The Consequences of Change
by PuppyDogJou
Summary: Full summary inside! SetoxJou KaibaxJou. Many things change in 20 years. When Kaiba Seto returns to Domino, he find out what all has changed, and what has remained the same. And finds sometimes changes bring out hidden feelings from long ago.
1. Ch 1: Reunion

Lime Rocker: So here it is. The first chapter to my random blow-of-fast-brain-power idea! Lol I hope I did the mental pictures in my mind justice. Anyway, please comment and enjoy 3

**THANKS GOES TO ****LADYSABER**** AND THE PEOPLE ON THE ****JOULOVESSKAIBA LIVE JOURNAL GROUP****!**

Story: The Consequences of Change

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, BakuraxRyou

Rating: T for Teen due to sexual content and language. (**Rating may go up** depending on how the plot plays out!)\

Summary: It's been 20 years since Kaiba Seto left Domino Japan. His company has suffered from receding popularity in the public. On a publicity stunt for the press, in hopes to boost his personal image, he runs into an old "dog" from the past. When the poor dog is in need of help, Kaiba finds himself going far past the necessary for him and a… puppy!?

"Many things change in 20 years. When Kaiba Seto returns to Domino Japan he find out what all has changed, and what has remained the same. And finds sometimes changes bring out hidden feelings from long a go. KaibaxJou SetoxJou"

**WARNING: This is a YAOI story. Meaning male on male pairings! If you are not comfortable with this then PLEASE stop reading now**! I don't want to hear any comments on how homosexual's are disgusting! I don't go on to Jou(Joey)xMai stories and tell them how the relationship is inaccurate due to age and the fact Mai is so obviously with Valon…. So don't to it to mine!

* * *

Chapter One: Reunion

When his executives told him he needed to boost his image this was not what he had pictured. Battle City had been a great publicity stunt, not only getting Kaiba Corp's. name propelled around the world, but satisfing the public's need for gossip about him. So, it was only natural he thought they meant to throw another dueling competition. At first the idea had seemed idiotic, it had been years since he had dueled. But the idea grew on him. He would never tell a soul, but he missed the exhilaration and thrill of the game, not to mention his Blue-Eyes. However, his pride restrained his foolish child desires. He was 38 now, and Duel Monsters was a kids game. But this!? This was not a simple blow to his pride. Oh no, if only that were the case. No, this had blown it to bits!

Kaiba Seto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had just arrived at the restaurant, and already had a headache from the woman's shrill voice. The media was obviously shocked to see Kaiba Seto back in his hometown after 20 years. He couldn't help but laugh at their ignorance. He had been back in town for a week now, and had managed to keep it from the press. He would be sure to look at the headlines tomorrow for any decent punch lines, but knowing full well none of them would amuse him.

"Kaiba-sama! Kaiba-sama, over here!" Someone shouted from the doorway. He turned in time to see a bright flash in his face, before the large fogged glass doors were closed. Seto rolled his eyes. He hated the press.

"Oh my! Is it always like this, Seto?" When had he ever agreed to be on a first name bases with her?

"Hn." He shrugged.

Yes, this was his torture. _This, _was all his good-for-nothing executives could come up with. He, of course, tried to get out of it, but his efforts were futile. He was forced on a date, a date with the most annoying woman he had ever met, even that girl who always followed Yuugi Motou and preached about friendship was better then Maggie. She wasn't a sore to look at, but her personality. It was obvious to Seto she was fake, a superficial girl who hadn't grown up after High School. And her voice! Seto wasn't even going to start on her voice.

"Kaiba-sama! Welcome to Le Cellier (1)! A table for two?" a man from behind a dark podium spoke. He came towards the CEO, his black flea-bitten mustache gleaming from the grease the man had put in it to hold the ridiculous curl.

"Yes." Was his short reply.

"Would you prefer a table or booth?" he smiled cheekily at the CEO.

"Booth-"

"Table-"

Kaiba clenched his teeth. He did _**not **_like it when people spoke for him.

"Oh, you like booths?" She turned to him, a slight pout forming on her lips. She did not pull this off, but he let it slide… this time.

"No, a table is fine." Kaiba didn't look at her. He knew he would end up glaring at her, and didn't want to deal with her any further then he had to.

"Right this way then." The host ushered them to a circular table near the center of the room. This was Kaiba's first time at this particular restaurant, and in the category of design he gave them 4 stars.

It was breath taking. A large chandelier hung in the center of the room, smaller ones hung around it. There were booths along the walls, and another row a yard and a half next to it, a decorative half-wall separating the booths next to the others. The walls were pure white, gold trim around the windows, doors, and around the ceiling as a border. Black curtains hung on every window, still allowing a breath taking view of the city to shine through. Despite all its beauty, what surprised Seto the most was the pure white marble flooring. He knew it took the custodians at Kaiba Corp. hours to clean the floors, but even now, after 2 hours of being open, the floor still sparkled purely. (2)

"Here we are!" the host smiled, "I am sure your waiter will be out shortly, and I hope you enjoy your meal, Kaiba-sama."

Kaiba nodded "Hn." And with that the man left. _'Just 1 more hour… Just 1 more hour…" _He kept thinking to himself, _'Just 1 more hour until I can end this ridiculous date… if you can even call it that.'_

"It's so pretty! Isn't it Seto?" Kaiba's 'date' asked in her obnoxious voice.

He nodded, not saying anything as he eyed the people around him. He snorted, seeing an executive from a smaller company setting two tables over. Kaiba never liked the man, he was power hungry, and would do _**anything**_ to get ahead. He hadn't signed a deal with the company because of the man. Secretly, he wished he could put the man in his place.

"-Are you even listening to me?"

Seto turned his attention back to the thin woman sitting across from him, and nodded again. "Yes. Of coarse I am Gratanya-san." He put on his fake-nice voice, which surprisingly enough he seemed to be very good at. A lot of things change in 10 years.

She smiled obnoxiously again, "Good! Anyway, as I-"

"-Hello! Sorry for the wait." Seto blinked, he knew that voice. "Welcome to Le Cellier! My name is J-"

"-Mutt?" he raised an eyebrow at the blonde. A lot really had changed in 20 years. The blonde's shaggy hair was shorter and more kept. He stood straighter, still thin, but no longer his lengthy gangly teen-self. The chocolate eyes however, hadn't changed in the least; still warm caramel brown that held a burning fire of emotions behind them. Said eyes blinked a couple of times.

"Kai… Kaiba!?" It was Seto's time to blink as the blonde's mouth twitched slightly. His efforts to hide it failed, and a burst of giggles escaped his pink lips. "Oh my gosh! I didn't know you were back in Domino!" The blonde smiled, "You look so different. I have to admit I didn't recognize you for a moment." He paused, "Same old blue eyes though."

It would appear Kaiba's 'date' didn't like their waiter, or the fact he knew Kaiba. "Are you going to take our order, or stand there talking like an idiot?"

Seto raised an eyebrow at her. He opened his mouth, fully prepared to tell her to shut up, and continue on with his toying towards the dog.

"Ma'am," Seto shook his head, _'Here it comes, the Mutts lost it.'_ Seto thought to himself as he heard the blonde speak. "You are very right, my apologies." Kaiba turned back to the blonde, his azure eyes wide in shock, watching the blonde bow respectfully. "What would you like a drink?" he asked them, smiling.

"A bottle of white wine."

Seto rolled his eyes at the woman.

"What kind?"

"Your best."

"Yes Ma'am. And for yourself-" he paused for only a second before adding "-Sir?" It was short hesitation, but enough for the CEO to catch the quick rest. Jounouchi was told he had to use the formality, and it showed.

"Wa-"

"-He'll have wine as well." Maggie spoke up.

Kaiba clenched his teeth. He was about to open his mouth before he was cut off…. again.

"Didn't you here me? Why are you still here?" Maggie shrilled.

Their blonde waiter didn't move. He looked at Kaiba, ignoring the tiny brunette. "Sir?" he asked again.

"I'll have water." He paused, smirking slightly, "Please." He wanted to fluster the pup in any way he could.

"Right away." The blonde bowed again, and left to fulfill their order.

Seto watched in hidden shock. Surprised he hadn't flustered the puppy one bit. It aggravated him. Sure he had expected things to change around Domino. He honestly didn't think he would run into any of the Dork Patrol, least of all Jou. But the fact the blonde had changed so much as to flat out ignore his taunting, was unnerving.

"What was his name again?" Maggie's voice echoed though his mind.

"Jounouchi." He mumbled.

"Well the nerve of him!" Her excruciating voice pulled Seto back to the table, very annoyed.

Kaiba's blue eyes turned hard and glared daggers at her, yet said nothing. She opened her mouth again, "Honestly, I don't-"

"-A bottle of Montrachet 1974(3)." Jou flashed a snicker towards Kaiba, placinc the bottle and wine glass on the table, knowing he would be paying for it. "And a glass of water." He placed the glass next to Seto's plate.

"Why are you working here anyway pup?" another piece to the puzzle. Seto had no clue why the blonde would be working here of all places. If Kaiba was asked where he thought the pup would work, it would be either, he hadn't worked and dropped out of college therefore only getting jobs at fast food joints, or the mutt had gone to college in which case he would have gotten a brain and wouldn't be working here. Seto knew the restaurant had high standards for its employees so how had Jou gotten here?

Jou's eyes narrowed, "That's none of your business, Sir" again, Jou's word or respect held contempt.

Seto hated it when he asked questions like that, but he despised it when people didn't answer him. He did not tolerate being lied to, and he didn't allow people to simply not answer him. "It's a simple question. What the best job you could get after high school was a waiting job? Drop out of college pup?"

"Are you ready to order, or shall I give you a few more minutes?" Jou glared at Kaiba, pulling out his pen and paper.

Blue eyes narrowed at the obvious change of topic, but their owner let it slide for the moment. "Yes. I am." Seto spoke before the Wrench could. He looked at her, allowing her to order first. He could be mean at times, but was never lacking in manors.

"Filet Mignon, medium." She folded the menu and harshly handed it to the blonde who scribbled down her order. He turned to Kaiba, who calmly folded the menu.

"Chicken Cordon Bleu," Seto paused. "Can you make it without the ham?"

Jou nodded writing it down after he took the menu. "It might take a few minutes, but I'm sure we can manage that." He paused, holding back a laugh again. "After all, they're all running themselves over because you're here."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, "Really?" He leaned back slightly in his chair, arms folded over one another as his elbows rested on the arms of the chair. "That never happens."

"Glenn didn't want to wait the table because of you. No one did." Jou shook his head, rolling his eyes slightly.

Seto shrugged, "I don't see what the big deal is."

"Perhaps you're still an arrogant prick who takes every chance to call people dogs and people don't want to deal with it?" Jou suggested, tapping the pen lightly on his chin in a mock 'Hmm this could be a hard one to crack' gesture.

"No, you're the only mutt I see around here." There! Finally, Kaiba got what he was looking for.

Jou's eyes narrowed, "I have ignored it up till now, _moneybags_-" he whispered the name, "But no more. I am not a mutt."

"How dare you talk to him like that!" Maggie barked, "You have no right to speak ill of someone who is obviously a higher level then you are."

Jou looked at the woman, "Pardon me ma'am, but it's called freedom of speech." Jounouchi turned, "I'll go put in your order." And with that he was gone.

"I have never had such a rude waiter! I'll be sure to tell his boss how obnoxious he is." Maggie huffed.

"You will do no such thing." Seto said calmly, his eyes closed.

--

Jounouchi Katsuya sighed heavily as he entered the kitchen. He pinched his nose, clipping the order to the chef's stack. "Make sure the Cordon Bleu is without ham."

"What!? No ham? Who would ever-"

"Kaiba Seto." Jou didn't even wait to hear the rest of the chef's obvious question.

"Hahaha! Come on Jounouchi! You were the one who said you could handle the guy." A voice next to the blonde joked.

"I can." Jou turned to see a dark short-haired man, about his age, coming up next to him. "You were the one who didn't want to take the table, Glenn."

Glenn shrugged, "I don't have a death wish. One thing goes wrong and I'd be fired." He paused, "Watch out. The boss is keeping a closer eye on you today, because of that table."

Katsuya groaned, "Joyful! I always have him breathing down my back, waiting for a screw up, and now he'll be clawing at me as well." He sighed, grabbing two dishes. "What table?" he asked, needing something to do before he checked up on his other guests.

"86." Glenn said, reading the order form.

"Thanks." Katsuya nodded, pushing open the swinging doors and walked to table 86.

--

Seto sighed, '_Will she ever shut up?'_ Maggie had been droning on for the past two minutes. '_Has she even taken a breath yet?'_ He wondered, doing his best to seem interested. He was just glade the only thing he had to contribute to the conversation was a "Mm Hm" and "Hn" every now and then.

Something moved to his right that caught his eye, and he caught a glimpse of gold. His attention turned to a blonde waiter coming out of two sliver swinging doors, two dishes in hand. He couldn't help but chuckle when the younger turned, only to jump back to avoid running into another waiter. The pup's stunts were amusing, he somehow managed to avoid the other waiter, the tables, and keep all the food on the plate.

"What's so funny?" Maggie asked, leaning forward and tilting her head as she batted her eyelashes at him.

It took all he could do to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Nothing."

She giggled, "Oh come now, Seto. Surely there must be something." She smiled suggestively.

'_Well for one thing there is your pathetic excuse of flirting. Then there is the fact that I have made it blatantly obvious I'm not interested in you and you still can't take a clue.'_ Seto mentally shook his head, '_She probably wouldn't even get it if I flat out said it.'_

"Chicken Cordon Bleu?" Seto turned his attention to the man in front of them.

"Yes." His eyes narrowed, seeing that it wasn't the pup. "And you are?" he asked.

"Why I am Minotaka." The blacked haired man bowed. "I am the humble manager of this fine establishment." He said, placing the chicken in front of Kaiba and the Filet in front of Maggie. "I do hope that you enjoy your meal, and if you need anything, please do not hesitate."

"Oh thank you very much. Your restaurant is very beautiful." Maggie smiled in her oh-so-superficial way.

"Hai. Arigatō gozaimasu Minotaka-sama." (4) Kaiba bowed his head.

"Oh no Kaiba-sama! It is I who must thank you for coming here tonight. I cannot express how-"

"-I said with no tomato sauce and no peppers!" a voice bellowed behind the manager, who turned in shock to see a man standing, plate in hand and yelling at a familiar blonde waiter.

"Gomenasai!" (5) Jounouchi bowed, "I shall take it back at once, Sir."

"Damn straight!" the man stopped and wrenched his hand and away from the blonde. "You know what, no! I don't want you to take it back. You should have gotten it right the first time." The man, who Kaiba recognized as the arrogant power hungry buffoon whom Kaiba had been glaring at when he had sat down, took the plate, Seto couldn't quite see what it was, and poured it all over Jou's shirt. "You blundering idiot!" He threw his wine in the blondes face.

"What is going on here?" the manager bellowed, walking up to the two. "Jounouchi, how dare you insult our guests!" Jou opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. "No! No more excuses from you! Go clean up and leave! I'll deal with you later." Jou blinked, and bowed, before sharply turning on his heels and walking down a hallway near the front of the dinning room. "Sir, I am so sorry!" the manager now turned to the angry man.

"Don't be." Seto stood.

Everyone looked at him, hundreds of eyes wide in shock. "Kaiba-sama, I am sorry for the disturbance."

"I told you not to be." Seto turned to the dirty business man. "You aught to be though, yelling at a waiter who didn't even take the order. He was simply delivering what he was told to bring to your table."

"Well he should have checked the order form. Perhaps he had the wrong table." The dark haired huffed.

"No, we both know you ordered that." He glared evenly down at the man, his blue eyes sharp as daggers.

"Kaiba-sama, allow me to apologies. I had no idea Jounouchi-san was your waiter this evening until only recently." Minotaka bowed, "He has been a problem in the past and I have been trying to keep an eye on him. I am not sure how he managed to get your table."

Seto's eyes narrowed, "Actually I have found him to be a hard worker. I was surprised the mu-boy could work so fast." He moved from the table, mentally slapping himself for his slip. "However, if this is the company you keep." He motioned towards the executive, "Then I will not support your business." He turned, headed towards the door.

"Kaiba-sama!"

"Seto!"

He ignored them all, gracefully stepping out of the door and glided to his waiting limo, ignoring the bright flashes of light from the paparazzi.

"Sir?" his driver questioned as he opened the door for his employer.

"Call a cab for Gratanya-san please." He said, taking a seat on the black leather.

"Right away Sir." his driver gave a short nod, and had a cab hailed, showing up only moments later.

"Seto!" Maggie shrieked as she followed him. "I'll call you!" she called after his fleeting car, as she was escorted to her waiting cab.

--

It was colder then it was supposed to be, ironically fitting for his situation. Jounouchi Katsuya sighed as he shuffled his way home. It wasn't even his table. _'How the hell am I going to pay rent this month?'_ the thought suddenly passed through Jou's mind as the reality of the situation sunk in. '_I'm going to lose the apartment.' _Jou stopped dead in his tracks.

He was about 6 blocks from the restaurant, and a light rain started to fall. Jou's shoulders sagged, and he looked down at his hands. "I failed Kenji." He whispered, feeling his knees weaken.

Katsuya shook his head, and continued to walk. '_I'll deal with it tomorrow."_ He knew he had to get to Otogi's and pick Kenji up, then head home. The issues could be dealt with after he was tucked in bed.

-

'_Thank the gods that's over!'_ Kaiba crossed his legs, and stared out the window as buildings flashed by.

"Where to sir?" his driver rolled down the window separating the two.

"The office. I need to finish a few things before I head home. Thank you, Ferio."

"Yes sir, and anytime." Ferio smiled at his employer. He had been working for Kaiba since the beginning, and was one person Kaiba thought he could trust. He was significantly older then the CEO. Seto wasn't sure how old exactly, but if he had to guess he'd say late 40s.

Seto turned his attention to the window, watching the building lights flash by again. He couldn't help but lose himself in thought, finding himself reminiscing on the last hour. Kaiba growled to himself, '_I survived an hour with the woman, why do I keep thinking about dinner?'_ It always annoyed the CEO when he couldn't explain things, and he could explain why brown eyes kept flashing through his mind. Despite the atrocity to society, he rather enjoyed the few moments that took his back to his high school days. Yes, despite the woman, his interaction with the pup had seemed to brighten the evening. "Gah Damn it." He huffed.

"Sir?"

His phone was ringing, "Never mind." Seto sighed before flipping his cell phone out of his pocket, "Kaiba."

"Hello Seto."

--

Jounouchi sighed, walking up the steps to his friend's large house. He could hear music blaring from the inside. He laughed slightly to himself, allowing a small moment of humor to overtake the seriousness of things.

Jou knocked, and barely finished the second pound when the door flew open revealing a tall and slender man, about Jou's age. He wore a right red shirt, leaving the length of his arms unclothed, and black leather pants that clung to every inch on his lower half. '_I don't understand why all his' fangirls think he's straight.'_

"Katsuya!" The black haired man called, wrapping his arm around the blonde's neck and pulled him inside.

"Hello Otogi."

"Jou?" Katsuya smirked as his best friend since High School stepped up the door, his arms coming around the darker haired boy.

"Honda. I take it Kenji is still up." Jou raised an eyebrow, knowing he had told the two not to let him stay up late. Ten o'clock was late.

"Yeah, couldn't get to sleep. And we didn't see the harm in letting him stay up a few minutes longer." Otogi smiled, showing Jou inside.

"Sure. Whatever." Jou crossed his arms, acting upset.

"You know full well we have a weakness for puppy dog eyes!" Honda poked Jou in the ribs, walking into their living room.

"Kenji, guess who's here early?"

* * *

(1) French for "The Cellar" but some of you may have caught that. Anyway, it's like the BEST restaurant I have ever been to. They have the most delicious steak ever .

(2) I drew it. If you'd like to see what I'm talking about email me. Lol I donno if the description made sense

(3) THE most expensive white wine I know of. I donno if it's spelled right or not though so sorry xD

(4) Sorry, I had to add one line of Japanese! I know so little of it, but it's so much fun to use. Kaiba said "Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Minotaka."

(5) Heehee I got carried away. Jou said "I am very sorry!"

Lime Rocker: So what did you think? PLEASE comment and tell me either 1. Good things 2. Bad things, or 3. Both things. Haha. Anyway, I hope I did my speed-of-light-brain-idea justice. It's one of my longer stories, so I think that's pretty kick butt!!

Thanks again to ladysaber and the livejournal community JouLovesKaiba.


	2. Ch 2: The Park is a Playground

Lime Rocker: Well here's my second installment of "The Consequences of Change." I hope you enjoy it! Sorry it's a lot shorter then my last chapter.

**THANKS GOES TO ****LADYSABER**** AND THE PEOPLE ON THE ****JOULOVESSKAIBA LIVE JOURNAL GROUP****!**

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, BakuraxRyou

Rating: T for Teen **(RATING** **SUBJECT TO CHANGE!)**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Park's a Playground

Seto sighed before flipping his cell phone out of his pocket, "Kaiba."

"Hello Seto."

Kaiba Seto blinked, "Mokuba?" He asked, unsure as to why his brother would be calling him. "Is everything alright? What's wrong?" he knew he sounded like a worried mother, but he couldn't help it. It was his brother after all.

A giggle erupted from the other end. "Yep. The one and only! And nothing's wrong. Just thought I would call my big brother and see what he's up to!" the younger Kaiba cheered.

"I'm going to the office. I have a few things to do before tomorrow." Seto replied leaning back into the leather of the limo's seat. "Why are you calling me? Isn't it…" Seto looked at his clock, and did some fast calculating in his mind, "… about 2 in the morning in America?"

"Actually, it's about ten o'clock where I am."

Seto raised an eyebrow at his phone, "Moki, you didn't drop out did you?"

Mokuba laughed again, "No, but I was two weeks a head on homework, and all my teachers said it would be alright, so I decided to pay a visit to my dear brother. After all you just moved back, so I thought you might need some help getting used to the old days."

"There are no more old days, Mokuba. They are old for a reason. It's time for the new." He could almost hear Mokuba rolling his eyes.

"Stop pretending to be some philosopher, Seto. You can't pull it off."

Seto shook his head, but smiled "Where are you?"

"Pulling into the mansion right now. You'd better get here fast before I turn the house upside down."

Kaiba sighed, "Be there in thirty."

--

"Kenji, guess who's here early?" Honda called, stepping into their living room.

Jou followed his two friends, stepping in behind them. "Hey there kiddo. Thought I told you to be in bed by 9."

"Daddy!" came a cry, and a flash of yellow latched onto the blonde man's leg.

"Ready to go sport?" Jou asked, scooping down and picking the kid up.

"Uh huh!" the little boy nodded, smiling up at his father.

"Can I have the keys to my car back, Honda." Jou turned to the other brown-eyed man who held the keys up.

"Thanks for letting me borrow it. Mine's in the shop, and Otogi had to use his today." Honda placed the keys into their owners waiting palm. "See ya later Kenj'!" He ruffled the blonde hair and the boy laughed.

"See you two, and thanks." Jounouchi nodded before stepping out of the house.

"Did you have fun with Uncle Honda and Uncle Otogi today?" Jou asked as he placed his son into the back booster seat. Kenji covered his mouth as he yawned, but nodded. His father chuckled, closing the door before walking around the car. "Good to hear. Go to sleep we'll be home soon. And don't forget tomorrow is Saturday." Katsuya looked in the rearview mirror to see his son's soft smile before he drifted to sleep. Jou smiled, and made the way home.

--

"Onii-san!"(1) a voice yelled the second he stepped through the door.

"Mokuba." He laughed, returning the massive hug his younger brother was giving him. "Good to see you too little brother." Seto blinked, and pulled back from his brother. "Did you cut your hair?" he tried his best to suppress his smile. He had been trying to get Mokuba to cut his hair since high school, and the boy simply refused.

"Yeah, it was getting in my way." Mokuba looked down at the floor.

"Mokuba." Seto knew his brother by now.

The raven haired boy sighed, "Girls found it a turn off." There was a slight pause, before the richest man in Japan burst out into a roar of laugher. Mokuba smiled, and grabbed his brother's hand. "We're going out tomorrow afternoon! It's Saturday, and you're taking the day off!"

"I can't Moki." Seto sighed, looking down at his brother with regret filled eyes. "I have meetings all day tomorrow."

"To bad. I already called them and rescheduled." Mokuba smiled, turning on his heels. "See you tomorrow afternoon dear brother." And before Kaiba could get a word of protest out, Mokuba vanished.

Seto shook his head, smiling at the empty hall his brother had disappeared down. "See you tomorrow."

--

"Wheee" little Kenji squealed with glee as he slid down the playground's large slide. "Daddy! Daddy look at me!" Kenji waved as he climbed up the outside of the bars, and back up into the child's play loft.

Jounouchi Katsuya laughed, waving at his son. "I see you." He smiled.

"Hi Uncle Honda, Uncle Otogi!" the boy yelled, before disappearing to play Hide-And-Go-Seek with some of his new friends.

"Hay Kid!" Otogi waved as the two sat down next to the blonde father.

Jou looked over at the two and nodded, "Hay what are you two doing here?"

"Honda wanted to get some fresh air and have some time together." Otogi paused before flashing a smirk and his lover's friend, "And I had a favor to ask you."

Katsuya narrowed his eyes, "No." Jou shook his head. "I am not helping with any more company problems Otogi." Jounouchi stood, he couldn't see Kenji.

"Aw come on Jou! It's nothing big. Just a few legal papers I need someone to look over."

"Get Honda to read them." He paused for a minute, his eyes scanning the playground.

"You know I have no idea about legal issues, Jou. I dropped out of law school remember?" Honda shook his head.

"Where's Kenji?" Jou tried to remain calm, but his heat began to beat rapidly.

Honda stood as well, searching the play area as well.

"It wont take you long, please Jou!" Otogi crossed his arms looking up at the blonde.

"I don't see him." Jou's voice shook slightly.

"We'll find him Jou. Come on Otogi, we'll go look by the bathrooms." Honda pulled Otogi up, and headed left.

Jou nodded, "Right. I'll check the fountain."

--

"You are aloud to have _some_ fun Seto." The raven haired boy joked with his brother.

The brunette ruffled his younger brother's hair. "I am having fun, Moki." He smiled down at the raven head.

Kaiba Mokuba shook his head, "Only because I made you come out. But you don't have any friends, you never go out."

"That's not true Mokuba." Seto looked hard at his brother, his hands going into his coat's pocket.

"Then tell me Seto. How was your date last night?" Mokuba crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Seto glared at the smaller, "Last night wasn't bad, but that woman… if you can even call her that-"

"Seto!"

"Sorry." Seto paused, "I ran into one of the Geek Squad at dinner." He didn't want to tell Mokuba he had run into the pup, but he was out of things to say.

"What? There's a Best Buy here?" Mokuba looked at his brother with big purple eyes.

Seto stopped in his tacks, a slender eyebrow raised, "Best Buy?"

"Oh! Right." Mokuba slapped his forehead slightly. "Yuugi's Gang." He shook his head. "Sorry. Best Buy is a company in America that has a computer support group called 'The Geek Squad.' Anyway, who did you see?" Mokuba smiled and pulled his brother further down the path.

"The mutt."

"Jounouchi!?" Mokuba started bouncing with glee. '_Some things never change.'_ Seto thought to himself, and nodded. "How is he? What has he been up to? Why is he still here? Is he doing okay?"

"Whoa whoa." Kaiba waved his hand. "I have no idea. He was our waiter. I only spoke to him when giving him my order. Anyway, he looked fine. A little less mangy, but a mutt all the same."

Mokuba smiled, "Oh so you noticed how he looked?" he raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"He was our waiter. I haven't seen him in 20 years, the changes were pretty evident." Kaiba shrugged.

"Changes?" Mokuba asked, tilting his head to the side in concern.

"Nothing horrible Mokuba: shorter hair, he was taller, still thin, he stood straighter… what are you laughing about?"

Mokuba moved his hand away from his mouth. "No… nothing dear brother." The raven haired boy as trying to stop laughing, but was failing horribly.

Seto's blue eyes narrowed "Don't lie Mokuba."

"It's just…" he burst out into another giggle fit. "You… you seem to know more about how Jou looks then your date."

"Not true. When you haven't seen someone for a long time, their changes are more evident. I've said that once alright." Seto grinded his teeth as his phone went off. "Damn it. Sorry Moki."

Mokuba sighed at his brother, but walked over to a bench a few feet away. "Note to self: take Seto's cell next time." He shook his head, watching the CEO storm down the walk way. He knew his brother would be back after the phone call. If Seto didn't walk while he was on the phone, who knew how bad he could get. He was already yelling at the person on the other end. "Some things just don't change."

--

Kenji had never been to this part of the park before. It was cool! He smiled to himself; _'No one will find me here!_' he peeked out from the top of the large brush. He blinked, hearing someone yell. He ducked back under the large bush, and peered under by the roots to see two black dress shoes pause in front of him.

"Damn it Himatori. I said no! My brother is in town, and I will not be in today!" the man shouted.

'_He sounds like Daddy when he's really mad.'_ Kenji popped his head up to get a better look at the man, but all he could see was the tall man's back, and well kept brown hair. He blinked, not being able to see the man's face. Kenji felt Goosebumps running across his skin, something about the man was familiar. _'He looks like the monster from my dream.'_ He was a big boy and he refused to cry, but despite his efforts he felt his eyes water.

"Hai, connect them." The man said before turning and sitting down on a park bench. Kenji crossed his arms, he wanted to see the man's face.

"Whoa!" Kenji's mouth dropped open as the mysterious man began to speak English. For some odd reason his father had taught it to him, telling him it would come in handy one day.

"Good afternoon ((Mr. Trump! No just kidding.)) Mr. Cook. Yes, I am afraid I will not be able to. Yes. Well I am sorry to hear that. Yes, good day." The man's English was pretty good.

Kenji slowly, inched out from behind the brush, and stood next to the serpentine man. He blinked, '_He sounds mad!'_

"Baka! If you want to keep your job, I suggest the next time I tell you I won't take any calls you won't call me!" The man was back to Japanese.

There was a pause after the man slammed his cell phone. "You know, you shouldn't yell at people." Kenji spoke, trying to keep his English clean from any Japanese accent.

The man jumped, and turned to face the boy. _'Ah! DRAGON!'_ Kenji screamed in his mind, but refused to back down from the man's icy glare. "Who are you?" the man's voice was venomous.

"My name is…" he paused, smiling mischievously to himself, "Seth. Yours?" Kenji thought it sounded English. It was his middle name so he wasn't really lying to the man.

"What do you want?" the man continued to glare at the small child.

He shook his head, blonde hair flying around "You didn't answer my question. That's kinda rude."

"I was raised properly. I don't give my name out to strangers. You're parents fail at raising you." The man stood.

"My father does not." Kenji stood as well, glaring at the tall man. "Anyway, I may give out a name to strangers, but at least I don't yell at people." He shrugged.

The man raised an eyebrow, "So then your parent's raised you to lie. You name isn't Seth." He had caught Kenji's wording.

"Oh no. I didn't lie." Kenji smiled. "Anyway, I should be going. But remember it's not nice to yell at people. My dad always says that if you yell at someone or make fun of them then you wont have any friends." and with the Kenji bounded off towards the play ground, satisfied that he had proven his superiority over the mean man.

Kaiba Seto watched as the blonde child skipped off. "Stupid kid. Your daddy obviously knows nothing." He shook his head, and began to walk up the path to find Mokuba, before his phone went off again. "Damn it!"

--

"Kenji!" Jounouchi Katsuya yelled as he dashed through the park. He hadn't seen his son for the past fifteen minutes and the blonde man was getting scared. "Kenji where are you?" He stopped looking around the park, his golden eyes scanning every person.

"Jou? Jounouchi Katsuya?"

Jou stood up straight, and turned slowly. He blinked as he came face to face with a slender raven haired boy. "Mokuba?" a smile slowly spread across the younger fetchers.

"Long time no see." Mokuba smiled.

"Whoa! Hay!" Jou reached over and grabbed Mokuba into a bear hug. "How are you? What have you been up to? Oh my gosh you've grown… and cut your hair!" Jou ruffled the black hair and smiled down at the boy. "You're in college still right?"

Mokuba laughed, "I'm doing well. I've been helping Seto move in. And yes I'm still in college. What about you though? Man! Seto was right, you have changed."

Katsuya blinked, "Wha?" he shook his head, letting it slide "Mokuba I wish I could talk right now. But I need to find my son, and a babysitter. Work just called and they need me tonight." He sighed. He hated his job, but he had no choice.

"Son?" Mokuba's eyes grew wide. "You have a son?" he almost yelled.

Jounouchi nodded, and smiled proudly. "Yep, Jounouchi Kenji. Who at the moment is missing." He looked around still looking for him.

"Can I help Jou?" Mokuba asked, looking around.

"No, I'd hate to bother you." Jou smiled "What are you doing here anywa-"

"-Daddy!" Jou felt something latch onto his leg, and he sighed.

"Kenji! I've told you many times not to go off alone! You were told to stay in the playground and you deliberately left." He looked down at his son with disapproving eyes.

Kenji looked down ashamed, "I'm sorry Daddy."

"I have to work tonight. Honda and Otogi can't watch you and I have half a mind to call Sophie-sama."

Kenji's eyes widened, "No! Please not Sophie-sama! Please Daddy! She's so mean!" the little boy tried to plead with his father.

"There's no other option Kenj'."

"I'll watch him for you Jou." Mokuba smiled, having gotten over the shock of seeing the boy. "It would be cool to get to know him." Mokuba knelt down and smiled at the blonde boy. "Hi. I'm Mokuba."

Kenji blinked, but bowed, "It's very nice to meet you Mokuba-sama. My name is Jounouchi Kenji."

Jou held back a laugh, "I've known Mokuba since he was ten." He smiled at his son.

Kenji smiled, "Really?" he looked up at the raven haired boy. "What was Daddy like?"

Mokuba laughed slightly "I'll tell you tonight." He stood, "When do you have to be at work Jou?"

Katsuya shook his head, "No, I can't ask you to do this. You and your brother have to have something planned."

Mokuba nodded, "Yes, but I don't see why Kenji can't come over. After all Seto usually sneaks off and does a few hours of work anyway, this gives me something to do." He smiled. "And before we even go there, I will not take any money. But you'll have to pay me back by coming to dinner sometime." Mokuba smiled "I want to catch up."

Jou sighed, "If you're sure." He waited till Mokuba nodded "Alright. I guess I can drop him at your house at five?" he paused "I won't be able to pick him up until ten-ish."

Mokuba smiled "Works for me. Do you know where the house is?"

"I think everyone knows where the Kaiba mansion is." Jou joked.

Mokuba looked at his jacket pocket, "Hang on a minute." He held up and finger and pulled his phone out. "Moshi Moshi,(2) Kaiba Mokuba speaking. Oh hi Seto. Sorry didn't look at caller ID." He paused, and smiled slightly "No that's cool. Do you mind if I have a friend over then?" Mokuba snickered and winked at Jou. "Yeah that's right. His name's Kenji…. Uh huh… Thanks Seto!" Mokuba slipped his phone into his pocket. "How about I make life easy. Seto has to go to Kaiba Corp for a few hours. Why don't I take Kenji to get some food, and you can pick him up at the house tonight?" Mokuba smiled.

"I don't see why that won't….. Wait. Is Kaiba going to be okay with this? I realize we haven't really seen each other in twenty years, but I can't see Kaiba being okay with you taking my son for the night."

Mokuba nodded, "Yeah I don't think Seto would be okay with me babysitting anyone's kid…. But what he doesn't know can't hurt him." Mokuba smiled. "Anyway, you need a babysitter, I need something to do, and Kenji wants to hang out so everyone wins." Mokuba smiled, "Plus it's supposed to snow today, and we have the best hill for sledding!"

Jou tilted his head, "It's not that cold out though."

Mokuba shrugged, "Our weather reports are never wrong. Come on Kenji. Lets go get some hamburgers."

"Yeah!" Kenji cheered.

Jou sighed, "Alright. I'll see you tonight. Kenji, try not to run Uncle Mokuba crazy."

Kenji nodded, "Yes sir!" he smiled and grabbed Mokuba's hand.

"It was good to see you Jou!" Mokuba called as the two left towards Burger World.

* * *

(1) Means "big brother" in Japanese…. I think….

(2) "Moshi Moshi" is a Japanese phone greeting. It's like "Hello. Good day" or something along those lines.

Lime Rocker: Sorry it was shorter then the last chapter, and Jou and Seto really didn't interact at all in this chapter, but I promise they will next!! I'll also explain Jou's situation and what Kenji looks like. . I haven't really described him yet for a reason, I wanted my readers (you) to learn about Jou and Kenji the same way Kaiba does. So I hope it works out!

Peace and much love!


	3. Ch 3: The Dragon Man Sounds Cooler

Lime Rocker: So there was a power outage and I didn't have the internet… so what did I do beside practice the piano? I wrote the third chapter! Lol I hope you enjoy it.

**THANKS GOES TO ****LADYSABER**** AND THE PEOPLE ON THE ****JOULOVESSKAIBA LIVE JOURNAL GROUP****!**

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, BakuraxRyou

Rating: T for Teen (**RATEING SUBJECT TO CHANGE!**)

* * *

Chapter Three: The Dragon Man Sounds Cooler

Kaiba Seto didn't like it when he told his secretary he wouldn't take any phone calls on his day off. He hardly ever took days off, only when Mokuba insisted. He didn't even take sick days, not because he wasn't sick, but because he was never sick enough to stop working. So needless to say, when his phone never stopping ringing and he was called into work, he was beyond pissed off.

He was still in a bad mood when he came home at 6:30. He set his briefcase down on the door, and removed his trench coat, brushing the snow flakes from his hair. He sighed, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants and a blue V-neck shirt.

"Seto, is that you?" a voice behind his bedroom door called.

"Yes, hang on a moment Mokuba." Seto said through his black turtle neck which he was pulling off.

"Alright." Mokuba waited patiently, knowing his brother was changing.

Seto moved to the door, pulling the blue shirt on before opening the door. "Sorry Mokuba. Those buffoons were running around with their heads cut off. I swear they can't do anything without having their hands held." Seto smiled, ruffling the raven hair.

"You always do that. Stop I'm 23, almost 24 now. Don't mess up the hair." Mokuba smiled up at his brother. "You look tired Onii-san."

Kaiba nodded, "Hai, it's been a long few days, and I still have some paper work to look over."

Mokuba nodded, "Can I help with anything?"

Seto shook his head, "No, it's mainly legal issues, and a few project proposals." He leaned against the door frame.

"Give me the legal papers. I'll give them a read through." Mokuba smiled.

"You know full well I'll read it anyway Mokuba." Seto stepped out of his room, and closed the door. "I'll be in the study if you need me." He paused, remembering something. "Wait, where's your friend?"

"Oh! Yeah Kenji, well. He's around." Mokuba smiled nervously.

Kaiba looked at his brother for a long moment. "You know I don't like strangers walking around my house unsupervised."

Mokuba forced a laugh, "Oh he won't do anything, but I'll go find him right now. Bye!" Mokuba ran down the hallway. '_Crap where did that kid go?'_ he thought. The raven haired boy thought it would be a good idea to play hide-and-go-seek, but hadn't expected his brother to come home so early. '_I have got to find that kid before Seto does!'_ Mokuba could only imagine what Seto would do if he saw a little boy snooping around the mansion.

--

Kenji stared with a dropped mouth at the large room. It had so many books. Kenji saw a large book with gold writing reading "War and Peace." He turned up his nose, remembering his daddy read that once. He tried to read it, but it was way to boring. He turned around and yelped. There, set on the wall, was a large painting of a dragon.

"Wh… whoa!" Kenji gawked. The dragon was staring right at him, its white wings spread wide, teeth pulled back in a growl. Its blue eyes pierced him unblinking. Kenji swallowed, slowly backing up. "Good dragon…" his back his something hard and he whirled around, to see a dark brown desk. The door clicked, Kenji jumped under the desk, and pressed against its back.

A low growl emitted from behind him, and immediately he thought the dragon was coming after him. He drew his legs up and held his head, his eyes squeezing shut. "Go away… go away…" he whispered to himself rocking back and forth slightly.

--

Kaiba Seto stormed though the halls of his mansion. He was not pleased, Mokuba was acting strange and he didn't know why, he had some stranger walking around his house, and he had a lot of work to do, all on his day off. He growled to himself stepping into his study.

He paused, looking at his desk. The papers weren't in their usual near pile. Azure eyes narrowed as he looked at his desk. He quietly slipped next to the desk, leaning forward to see under it. Seto raised an eyebrow, seeing two small white socked feet. He stepped forward, pulling the black leather chair back. "Hey," the boy shrunk back slightly, "what are you doing in here?" he asked, surprised his voice was soft.

Seto blinked, the blonde haired boy looked up with wide light-brown eyes. "Hay…" The boy was thin, and blinked at Seto. '_He looks oddly familiar.' _Seto thought to himself. Suddenly, the blonde boy leapt up and latched himself onto Seto.

"I thought it was going to eat me." He sobbed into the man's abdomen, his arms around Seto's waist.

Kaiba blinked, "Wh…" Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the small child, flashbacks of Mokuba when he was afraid flashed through Seto's mind. "Shh. It's okay." He patted the boys back, "Nothing's going to… eat you."

The blonde sniffed, and pulled back looking up at the man. It was the first time Seto could really get a good look at the boy. He had pale skin, and light-brown eyes. His blonde hair was a dark sandy color, with brown streaks.

He raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said your name was Seth." He looked down at the boy.

"Oh. You remembered! That's my middle name." the boy smiled, his arms still around the snakelike man's waist. "My first name is Kenji."

Seto raised an eyebrow '_This is Mokuba's 'friend?' that doesn't make sense.'_ He sighed, '_He's babysitting.'_ He should have noticed it before. Mokuba was obviously hiding it from him. He shook his head. But something kept nagging him from the back of his mind. '_Yes, he looks very familiar…'_ He thought again. Kaiba took a step away from the boy, "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh! I'm playing with Uncle Mokuba!" the boy smiled, jumping up and sitting on the corner of the desk.

Seto sighed, "I know why you're in the house, but what are you doing in here? In this room?" he crossed his arms, "And get off my desk."

Kenji blinked, and lightly leapt to the ground. "Hiding from Uncle Mokuba." He smiled. "We're playing Hide-And-Go-Seek." He looked at something behind Seto, then back at Seto, then behind him.

"What?" Seto barked.

"You look like that dragon!" The boy's eyes widening in realization. "You're going to eat me aren't you?" He took a step back. "You got mad at me in the park, and for being in here. I'm sorry. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be here!" the small boy pleaded.

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose, his blue eyes closed. "I'm not going to eat you." He sighed, sitting down in the black leather chair. "I just have a lot of work to do, so go find Mokuba." He didn't move, waiting to hear the door to his study close.

"Can I help?" came a soft reply.

"No. It's not something a three-year-old can do."

"I'm four thank-you-very-much." Kenji huffed, crossing his arms.

"Fine. You still can't help. It's grown up stuff." Seto pulled out a stack of papers from one of the drawers. "Go find Mokuba and play."

Kenji shook his head, "No, he has to find me." He looked around the room, making sure to avoid the dragon. One of the many books seemed to catch his interest. "What's this about?" he asked, holding up 'The Things They Carry' (1)

"It's a book about Vietnam." Seto said after glancing up from a folder. "It's not appropriate for you."

"Why? I can read." Kenji opened to the front page.

"What's Vietnam?" Kaiba asked, knowing full well the child wouldn't know anything about it.

"It's a country right? There was a big war. I'm not stupid!"

Seto blinked, wondering how did a 4-year-old know knew that much. "It's still too graphic."

"What about this?" he asked holding up another book.

Kaiba sighed, "All's Quiet on the Western Front?(2) Still too graphic. Just get out of the war section." He went back to his reading.

"What's it about?" Kenji asked annoyed.

"World War I. Now get out of that section. Read Narnia or something."

"I've already read them." Kenji stated, placing the book back on the shelf.

"Harry Potter."

"Twice."

"Lord of the Rings."

"Yep."

"Eragon." Seto remembered Mokuba's rants about the book.

"Not again."

"Enders Game." (3)

There was a slight pause. "What's that?"

'_Bingo._' "It's a science fiction book. Just read it if you refuse to leave. Stay quiet. It's on the second shelf three from the door." Seto pointed to where the book was.

--

Three hours later, Seto was still working. Kenji sighed, "There's nothing to do."

"Finish the book." Seto muttered, slightly annoyed.

"I donno what this word means."

Seto looked up, "Then find something else to read."

"I wanna finish this one though." Kenji walked up to the blue eyed man.

"Then finish reading it."

"Will you help me?" he asked holding the book to the CEO.

Seto sighed, "Fine." Kenji smiled, and climbed up onto the man's lap. Seto blinked, but opened the book, "Where were you?"

"There." Kenji pointed to the second paragraph on the page, and Seto started reading.

--

An hour later, Seto gently poked the sleeping boy. "Go find Mokuba. I'm sure he's given up by now." He said smoothly, before setting the book down and picking up the papers he was reading before Kenji's book.

"O…okay." Kenji yawned again, before stepping to the floor. "See ya Dragon man." He hugged the man before turning to leave.

Seto wasn't quite sure why he did it. Maybe it was the blonde's eyes that kept reminding him of someone, or maybe it was the fact the boy hadn't really annoyed Seto once the past four hours. "It's Seto." But he did it all the same.

Kenji turned and smiled at the blue eyed man. "Bye Seto-sama." He paused after turning the door handle, "Dragon Man sounds cooler though." And he was gone.

Seto shook his head, the boy had given Seto quite a bit of entertainment. But he couldn't shake two thoughts, _'How does a four-year-old know so much? And who does he remind me of?_'

--

"Gotcha!" Mokuba shouted as he came up behind the child and wrapping his arms around the small boy's waist and tickling him.

"Ah! No! Hay!" Kenji giggled, "That tickles" he gasped between laughs.

Mokuba stopped and smiled, "Where have you been? I was worried!"

Kenji smiled sheepishly at the raven-haired boy. "Sorry. I was with the Dragon Man. We were reading!"

The younger Kaiba blinked, "Seto was reading to you?" Mokuba smiled "I'm glad you got to come over today Kenji." He led the boy to the living room. "Your dad should be here soon."

"Me too! It was so much fun!" Kenji cheered, sitting down on the couch.

Mokuba sat on the chair next to Kenji's "What do you want to watch?"

--

Jounouchi Katsuya sighed, stepping out of his car. His waiter's uniform was dirty again, and wet with spilled water and wine. It was annoying, everything that happened people seemed to blame on him. What was worse was the fact his boss had given him 2 weeks notice. Jou sighed, he hadn't done anything to render getting fired, but everyone seemed to blame him.

He crossed his arms, a harsh breeze hitting him the second he left the security of the car. "Stupid frozen engine." He muttered to himself. He knew the Kaiba mansion was in the up town living, high security area. He stepped back into the restaurant, told Glenn about his car, and, after Glenn said he would call someone, he began to make the journey to the Kaiba mansion.

"It's…. so…. cold!" Jou shouted, his arms wrapped around him, _'Of all days to leave my coat at home._' He thought, making another turn down the empty white street. _'At least the snow makes everything pretty to look at.'_ He smiled to himself "This will be Kenji's first big snow fall."

--

Kaiba looked up from the document in his hand when he heard the gates to the mansion open. He moved to the window, pushing back the blue curtains that hung, trying to see who it was. "Tch." He snarled slightly, only seeing the shivering outline of someone walking down the driveway. He decided to ignore it until he heard someone at the door. He sighed, moving to the door, and down the hallway. The kid looked familiar, perhaps he knew Kenji's parents.

Mokuba turned towards the mansions door, hearing a knock. "Looks like your Daddy's-Oh…" He shook his head, seeing the blonde boy was curled up asleep on the corner of the couch. He smiled, standing up and making his way towards the door.

"Hay Jou!" He greeted opening the door for the blonde.

"Hey Mokuba." Jou smiled, as Mokuba ushered him inside.

"Gosh you're a mess. What happened?" Mokuba asked, closing the front door.

"Bad day at work." Jou shivered, brushing the snow off his shoulders and hair.

'_That was a guy's voice.' _Seto noted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You're going to get sick, walking in the snow with wet clothes." Mokuba frowned.

'_Who the hell would do something as stupid at that.'_ Seto thought as he crossed his arms, and leaning against the wall right before the stairs.

"Was he a lot of trouble?" Katsuya asked, changing the subject.

'_Changed the subject._'Seto quietly leaned forward, trying to see who the father was. He peered around the corner, only to find Mokuba facing his direction. Seto quickly ducked backward, not wanting his brother to know how interested he was, _'I'll never hear the end of it._' Seto sighed to himself.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow, something had moved at the top of the steps. He got a mischievous smile. "Hmm? Oh." He quickly covered, hoping Jou wouldn't notice anything. "No not at all. We played Hide-and-Go-Seek, and I couldn't find him for 4 hours." Mokuba smiled at Jou's wide eyes. "No he was fine. He ended up running into Seto."

"Oh joy." Jou sighed, "How mad was he?"

"I don't know if he was mad." Mokuba giggled. "I actually think he enjoyed himself. First time in years." He smiled "I owe Kenji a thanks for that."

Jounouchi shook his head, "Never would have thought. Where is he now?"

Seto grinded his teeth in annoyance, he knew that voice!

"Seto? I don't know. Probably working in the study. Why?" Mokuba smiled at Jou. "Didn't know you were that interested."

The CEO rolled his eyes at his brother, _'Don't be an idiot you know who he was talking about_.' Seto thought to himself, '_Damn he must know I'm up here.' _

He blinked, "I was talking about Kenji, but thanks for letting me know I'm not going to run into the guy." Jou silently wondered why he was so embarrassed by the mix up.

Kaiba blinked several times, _'Who is that?'_ He was getting angry with himself.

"Oh! Kenji's in the living room. Come on." Mokuba grabbed Jou's hand and pulled him into the living room. "Shh." He said walking up the couch and pointing to the sleeping form.

Jou shook his head, "Well at least he went to bed, that's more then I can say when he's with Honda and Otogi." He gently scooped the boy into his arms. "Thanks so much Mokuba." He made his way towards the entry way.

"No problem. It was fun to have him around." Mokuba paused, biting his lower lip, "Hay Jou… "

'_Jou? The mutt was the father?_' Seto almost screamed. _'Why didn't I figure that out?_' He felt like an idiot. _'Damn it! That damn mutt._'

"Umm… If you don't mind me asking, who's the mother?"

Katsuya turned and blinked at the raven haired boy before smiling softly. "Mai." He whispered. "I was out with the gang at a club. Had a bit to much to drink" Jou shrugged, "Twelve months later she's at my doorstep with a little baby in her hands. Puts him in my arms and leaves. Haven't seen her since. I heard she and Valon got married."

Kaiba's eyes widened as Jou told Mokuba the story. "Mai?" Seto whispered. He knew there was some attraction between the two during Battle City, but he never thought anything would happen. Mai was a good 10 years older then Jounouhi, it simply didn't make rational sense the two would work out. _'Oh, Valon. That explains a lot. The Jerk didn't want to raise someone else's kid._'

Mokuba blinked, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Jou shrugged, "Don't be. I honestly don't care what she does with her life. Kenji knows who she is, and he's all I need." Seto could understand that feeling; it was how he felt towards his brother.

Mokuba smiled, "You're a good dad. He looks so much like you too!"

He smiled proudly, looking down at the sleeping boy in his arms. "He's a good kid, smart as hell though. I donno where he got that." He smirked at Mokuba.

_'Yes, that is an interesting point_.' Seto knew for a fact Jounouchi was struggling in High School, '_But his son seems outstandingly smart_.'

"Hay, uh, Mokuba, do you think you could call a cab? My car broke down." Seto could almost picture the blonde rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"You don't mean you walked here, like that, with no coat? Jou you really are going to get sick!"

"Eh. I'll be fine. I just have to get him home." Seto stepped out, and stood at the top of the stairs, putting his stone face on as he watched the two below him. He pulled his phone out, and hit a button.

"Sure Jou I'll-"

"-Ferio? Yes sorry to bother you. Yes. I need you to give someone a ride home. Be here in 5 or your fired." Ferio knew Seto well enough that he wouldn't be fired, but he still threatened.

Seto turned his attention back to the two standing on the first floor. He glared down at the both of them, "Mokuba, the next time you intend to puppysit don't lie to me."

Mokuba nodded, staring evenly at the two boys.

Jou kept his back to the CEO, he glared at the wall ahead of him.

"Daddy?" a voice whispered.

Jou looked down and smiled at his little boy. "Hai?"

"Why are you so cold?" Kenji sat up and wrapped his arms around his daddy's neck.

"I was outside. I'm sorry." He rubbed his son's back.

Kenji blinked, looking at the eldest Kaiba for a moment, "Can we finish the book?" Jou looked at his boy for a moment, confused at what he was talking about.

Seto nodded, "Perhaps."

"Hey Kenji. Want to get some hot chocolate for you and your daddy?" Mokuba smiled at the boy's enthusiastic eyes.

"Yeah!" he cheered, leaning away from his father who put him down. Jou watched the two take off for what he assumed was the kitchen. Jou shivered, and unconsciously wrapped his arms around his chest trying to preserve some of the warmth his son had given him.

"You're an idiot if you really walked here like that." He heard an icy voice behind him.

"I had to get my son." Jou still refused to turn around.

"Could have called a cab at the restaurant." Seto crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"They don't allow that." Jou sighed, he was so tired.

"After twenty years you're still just as idiotic as you were in High School mutt."

Jou spun around to face Kaiba, who was a good head taller then blonde due to the fact he hadn't stepped off the last stair. "First of all, I am not a mutt, Kaiba. I'm sick of the dog comments so back off. Secondly, I am not an idiot. I may be a waiter at a restaurant, and sure any idiot can do that, but I have a master's degree, and I won't put up with your shit any longer." Katsuya did his best to glare at the CEO, but he was so tired and was sure he was failing.

Seto raised an eyebrow "Really? A real degree or some half-assed one that does you no real good." He moved off the wall, and stood right in front of the blonde, glaring down. "You're going to get sick."

"What does it matter to you." Jou heard a car pull up outside. "Kenji, come on the car's here. We're leaving." He stood for a moment, matching the blue eyed glare before he moved towards the door, fiddling with the handle. Jou got it open two inches before it was slammed closed.

"Don't be stupid. You're going to get sick then pass it to him." Kaiba glared, leaning against the door.

Jou stared at Kaiba's chest which was an inch from his face. "I'm not going to get sick." He muttered, looking up at the taller man, his amber eyes glaring.

"Bye Uncle Mokuba! Bye Seto-sama!" Kenji called as he ran up to stand next to his daddy.

"Seto-sama?" Jou blinked down at Kenji. Seto quickly moved back from the door, being "preoccupied" by the window.

"Yeah, Dragon man sounds cooler doesn't it? Anyway, bye! It was very nice to meet you." He smiled and gave Mokuba a hug. "Promise we can finish the book?" he asked, looking up at the blue eyed CEO.

Seto shrugged, "Maybe."

Kenji smiled, and hugged him before rushing to his confused father's side. "Can we go home now. I'm tired."

Jou nodded, and flashed a smile at Mokuba. "See ya kid. And thanks again."

"Any time." Mokuba smiled back.

Jou looked at the CEO with a confused glare, but nodded, "Kaiba." And with that he closed the door.

"That was so cool daddy! Can I come back?" Kenji tugged his father's sleeve.

"Maybe Kenji." Jou smiled.

"Where to sir?" a man in a nice suit asked.

Jou looked at the man and smiled, handing him a piece of paper. "I'm sorry it's so late."

The man shrugged, "When you're working for Kaiba-sama you get used to it. Everyone gets called at ungodly hours." He opened the door for Jou and Kenji.

* * *

(1) "The Things They Carry." We read that during US History last year, and let me tell you I think it is one of the best none fiction books I have ever read. It might even be THE best book I have ever read.

(2) "All's Quiet on the Western Front." A war book we're reading this year. It's really well writing. It's about a German solider during WWI.

(3) All of those books are fantastic. If you haven't read one of them, go out and read them!

Lime Rocker: Well the last chapter was very short, but here's a really long one for you! I hope you enjoyed it.

Peace and much love!


	4. Ch 4: Just Another Routine Emergency

Lime Rocker: Hello all! First, I'd like to say sorry it took so long to update!!!! School's been laying it hard and I haven't had much time to work on the 4th chapter. I have half way done with the next chapter. I need to finish it and have my friend proof read it, then I'll have it up ASAP! Again, I'm so sorry.

Secondly, I'd like to say thank you to all the amazing reviews!!! I would love to write and individual message to each of you, but that would take so much space in the chapter. I will try to add a "thank you reviewers" page at the end of the story!!

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, BakuraxRyou

Rating: T for Teen (**RATEING SUBJECT TO CHANGE!**)

* * *

Chapter Four: Just Another Routine Emergency

_**The park was always beautiful in the winter time. The snow covered trees and swings, always brought a sense of peace to the billionaire. He could smell the crisp air as it blew gently around him. For a brief moment he wondered why he wasn't cold, his black trench coat was more for show than warmth, but the thought quickly vanished as a mop of golden hair popped out behind a clump of snow. His curiosity got the better of him, and he soon found himself standing behind a frozen bench with a blonde man huddled on it.**_

_**"What's wrong?"**_

_**There was a long moment of silence before the blonde's soft voice came out from behind his hands, "… They took him…"**_

_**"They took who?" he moved next to the other man. He didn't know why, but dread was welling up in his chest, and for some odd reason he knew the answer, and who 'they' were without really knowing it.**_

_**"They... they just took him." The shorter man's hands clenched, "Kenji…" he sobbed.**_

_**Before he knew what he was doing, he was sitting next to the other, his hand resting on the shorter's shoulder, "What happened?" Tears were dripping through the blonde's hands, "Don't cry puppy." He moved to take the hands away from the other's face and chocolate eyes turned to him.**_

_**"They just came…" he blonde choked out, "C-came out of n-no wh-where and took him." The blonde leaned forward, burying his head in his shoulder.**_

_**"Shh…" he wrapped his arms around the other's shaking form. "It's going to be okay. We'll find him." His hand ran through the golden strands.**_

_**"N-no we won't." the other sobbed, "The d-dragon ate him!"**_

_**The blue-eyed man blinked, "Dragon?" suddenly the blonde pulled back, his eyes lighter, and his face younger. "Where's my daddy? I can't find him…"**_

_**The CEO stared down at the small boy, completely perplexed. "We'll… we'll find him."**_

_**"No! You're lying! You said we could finish the book too and we never did! The dragon did eat my daddy!" The boy wrenched himself away from the man, and glared at him. "You lied!"**_

_**He shook his head, "No! We can finish the book, I promise."**_

_**"No! You're just lying to me again!" and with that the blonde haired boy turned and ran down the slick sidewalk.**_

_**"Kenji! Come back here! It's dangerous!" He shouted, sprinting after the small boy.**_

_**"No! I have to find my daddy! Leave me alone, you liar!" The Kenji cried, before his foot hit a block of ice. "Ah!" he yelped as he hit the ground, clutching his arm.**_

_**"Kenji!" he called, slowing down so he wouldn't run into the small boy.**_

_**The blonde boy's light brown eyes widened, staring at him in horror. "N-no! Don-don't e-e-eat me!" He winced, shrinking back.**_

_**He reached out, "I'm not going to eat you. Is your arm okay?"**_

_**The boy yelled, scrambling backwards away from the CEO. "No! Where's my Daddy? You ate him!" The boy turned horror filled eyes towards him "Yo-you're the-the d-d-d-dragon! Daddy! DADDY! Help me!" he screamed. "Pl-please do-don't eat me!"**_

_**Something growled behind him, and he turned to see two glowing red eyes scaring at him and Kenji from the shadows. His blue-eyes narrowed, "White lighting!" he shouted, motioning towards the satanic beast in the darkness. For a moment he wondered why he had done that, but a gust of wind, and a bright beam of light later he knew why. He turned, the white dragon, standing protectively behind its master. He smirked to himself, "Thank you." He nodded.**_

_**"D… daddy?"**_

_**He turned back to the small boy and knelt down. "Kenji it's okay. Everything's going to be alright. We'll find your daddy." Something groaned behind him, and immediately his mind froze, and things started to move in slow motion as he turned to see a blonde man laying in red snow. "Wh…" he started in shock, the small boy rushing to his father's side.**_

_**"Daddy!" Kenji shouted, falling next to his father, tears flowing from his eyes.**_

_**"Ke… Kenji." The blonde man was struggling to stand. "Shh…" he rubbed the boy's back, when he got to his knees. The small boy took his father's arm, helping him stand. The man turned to him, his eyes dark and out of focus. "S… Seto?"**_

_**Seto's eyes widened, and he heard another growl next to him. "No! No! Stop!" He shouted, the white dragon craning its neck. "Stop it!" He turned to look in horror at the two blondes. "Stop! Don't hurt them! No!" He yelled, feeling his legs move towards the two, but no matter how fast he moved, he wasn't going anywhere. "No! Kenji!" There was a bright light emitting from the dragon, and slowly, it made its way past the CEO. "Puppy….. JOU!" he screamed, as the blonde man closed his eyes and stepped in front of his son. Time shifted back to normal, and the beam rushed towards his pu-**_

"NO!" Kaiba Seto bolted up right, panting. He looked around the room, his heart was still rushing and the dread, sunken feeling had yet to disappear. Kaiba closed his eyes, his hand moving to his gasping chest. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and he couldn't shake the images out of his head. "Damn…." He muttered, "What the hell was that." It had been 5 days since Mokuba had watched Kenji, and every night he had weird dreams. Seto shook his head, _'Yeah this one definitely takes the cake on weird though…'_ he thought to himself.

The door creaked softly, "Seto?" he turned to see the worried expression of his younger brother's face, "Are you alright?"

He raised an eyebrow, and nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be, Moki?" He smiled.

"You were yelling." Mokuba walked towards his brother's bed, "No! No! Stop! Stop! Don't hurt them! No!" he quoted as ha sat down looking at the older Kaiba, "Then you screamed out Jou's name." he paused for a moment, "What happened?"

Seto shook his head, "Nothing. It was a dream and nothing more." He really didn't want to talk about the bizarre dream. Kaiba looked at the clock. "Crap it's already 7:30. I have to get to work." He pulled his blue silk covered legs out of the bed.

Mokuba smiled, "I'll never understand your obsession with silk. Egyptian cotton is so much better." The raven-haired boy's smile twisted into a smirk. He wasn't fooled, and Seto knew it. But the younger man decided not to push it for now.

Blue eyes rolled, "Personally, if I never hear the word Egyptian again I'll die happy."

The younger one giggled, "Come now your highness. Surely a high priest of Egypt deserves the best!"

Seto snickered, "And I have the best. Silk. Now go get some food. I have to take a shower." He turned towards the door.

"I was thinking about coming in later and seeing everyone. Is that alright?"

"Hmm… I suppose so, but make sure you don't bother them too much. After all I'm paying them to work, not entertain you." He smiled at his younger brother.

"Deal!" Mokuba cheered, practically skipping out of the room.

Seto couldn't help be laugh, before an image of a broke blonde flashed through his mind. "Stupid dream."

--

"I just don't think its right! Why don't you go find a different job?"

Jounouchi Katsuya sighed, "Because Honda, you remember how long it took me to find that one. I don't think I could find one that-" he sneezed, "-pays as well as this one. If this is what I have to do to keep my job then I'll do it." Jou's voice was stuffed, and he tired.

"But you're sick Jou!" Honda glared at his friend "I don't think running around and proving you're fit enough to work a job that pushes you down into the dirt is going to help!"

"Look, just look after Kenji okay. I should be done around 3. So just drop him off on your way to get Otogi." Jou sighed, looking at his friend with pleading eyes, "Please Honda."

The brunette sighed, "Are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean it's at Kaiba Corp. too! What if you run into that ass-hole?" he growled the last part. Honda wasn't pleased when Jou had told them Kaiba was back in town. He never said anything, but a part of Jou thought he blamed the CEO for his work predicament.

"It's a big building, Kaiba will be in his office all day, and won't even know I'm there. We won't run into one another." Jou sneezed again.

Honda paused for a while, staring at his friend. "….. Alright fine. I'll watch him, but you better take care of yourself, and if you feel any worse you stop!"

Jou nodded, "Deal. I gotta go. It's already 8:00 and I have to be there by 8:30." Jou waved, "See ya man. And thanks!" He waved goodbye to his friend.

He wished Honda could understand. When Minotaka-sama had called he explained that Jou could keep his job if he went to some kind of classes aside from work. And well, he had to pay the bills somehow. He really wasn't that sick. Sure it felt like his head was going to pop off, and his throat was collapsing…. he wasn't going to die.

Jou nodded to himself as he made his way down the snow covered streets, _'Kenji comes first!'_

He barely had time to change when he finally reached the Kaiba Corp. building.

"You are 47.07 seconds late Jounouchi-san." A tall, muscular man shouted at Jou as he walked out of the men's locker room.

Jou bowed, "Sorry sir. I had to drop off my kid and change." He did his best not to look at the man's face, knowing if he stared at the cheap Hitler-esque mustache he'd burst into a fit of laughter.

"I don't want to hear any excuses. Get in line." The macho man ordered. "I am Brutus Muller. And no, I am not from Japan. I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, and my mission in life is to escort you to your personal work-out hell." (1)

Jou blinked, '_This guy's just screaming Nazi.'_

"Now, get on a treadmill. I won't be going easy on your pussies. So be ready to run your scrawny asses off!" Brutus shouted, pulling a pen from his polo-shirt pocket and grabbing a clip board off the desk. "You're all here for some reason or another, weather it be to pass a physical to work at Kaiba Corporation, prove yourself worthy to keep your job, or get a great looking body to impress the hot girl on the 5th floor. Bottom line is, I could care less why you're here, but you're here, meaning you will follow my orders and do what I tell you to do if you wish to pass this class!" He continued to yell as everyone grabbed a machine.

"Boy this guy likes to hear himself talk." The man next to Jou muttered.

"Yeah tell me about it." The guy on his other side sighed.

"Well at least we can get a few laughs out of it." The two looked at Jou for a moment.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the white haired man to his right asked.

"Well, look at it this way. He's a huge macho guy, yet doesn't seem to have enough testosterone to grow a full mustache." Jou shrugged, turning the machine to a light jog.

"The kid does have a point." The brunette to his left laughed, "He's like a muscular version of Hitler."

"I bet his grandparents were Nazis." The white haired man muttered. "What's your name anyway?" He turned his attention back to Katsuya.

"Oh. Jounouchi Katsuya." He nodded, as the 'Hitler-wannabe' yelled for them to turn the speed up 5 notches.

"It's nice to meet you Jounouchi-san. I am Gunaka Hitori, but you can call me Hitori." He motioned towards the other man, "And the sullen man over there is Tsukimori Len." The white haired man nodded. "Be we'll all just call him Len." (2)

Jou smiled, "It's nice to meet you, and please call me Jou." He huffed out before he sneezed.

--

"So why are you guys here?" Jou asked. The 3 hours had flown quicker then Jou thought it would.

Hitori shrugged, "Have to keep fit somehow, and it's free for us so why not?" he smiled as they grabbed a hand towel, and wiped the sweat off their faces.

"Usual, right?" Len asked, throwing the white cloth in the basket next to the rack of clean ones.

"Yeah." Hitori smiled at him before turning to Jou "What do you want to eat?"

Jou blinked, "Do they have a turkey sandwich?" he tilted his head.

Len nodded, "What do you want on it?"

"Lettuce and mayonnaise." He paused, "Thanks so much."

Len shrugged, "Let's just hope the line's not long or I could be gone for a while."

Hitori shook his head, "Good thing I have a snack bar to tide us over until he gets back." He smiled pulling out a power bar. "It's a new one they were handing out at the grocery for people to try. So I apologize now if they taste horrible." He tore half of it off and handed it to Jou, who nodded his thanks and took a bite. "So what do you do for a living, Jou?"

Jou shrugged, "Well at the moment I'm a waiter." He sighed, "But hopefully sometime soon I can work for a firm." He smiled slightly.

Hitori raised an eyebrow, "You're a lawyer, but you're working as a waiter? How does that even happen?"

He shook his head, "It was hard to get a job. I had to pay for bills, and people don't want to hire a single father."

Hitori coughed, "You have a son?" he managed to say between coughs.

Jou nodded, but looked at Hitori worriedly. "Yeah, he's 4." He paused, putting a hand on Hitori's shoulder. "Hey man, are you alright?"

Hitori grabbed the power bar rapper, "Shit!" He coughed. "Peanuts!"

"Peanuts? What's wrong with peanuts?" he blinked, "Whoa! Hey man what's wrong." Jou shouted as the brunette fell to his knees.

"Don't…. have… epi… pen." He wheezed between coughs.

"Shit!" Jou helped him lay down before sprinting to the door. "Someone call for help!" he shouted at the secretary behind the desk. "He's choking!" Jou grabbed a pen lying on the desk and dashed back to Hitori.

"Oh my god!" He heard the lady scream, "Someone call-" the door closed.

--

It was obvious to everyone that ran into him that he was having a bad day. People started to avoid him when ever they saw him stalking through the halls. Kaiba Corps.' stocks were down, and that combined with no sleep made for a very pissed off CEO.

"Kaib-sama! Kaiba-sama!" he vaguely heard someone calling him from down the hall. "Kaiba-sama, please wait!" He growled, and spun around.

"What?" he barked. His secretary shrank back a bit, "Sir, um… it's Mokuba-sama's doctor. It seems something has happened in the fitness center, and they need you down there!"

Seto's blue eyes narrowed, "What happened?" he growled again, following the man towards the elevator.

--

"This is gonna hurt okay." Jou pulled a knife out of his pocket. "But if I remember correctly you'll be able to breathe."

Hitori nodded, leaning his head back to expose his neck. Katsuya wasn't about to ask how the brunette knew what he was going to do, he had to get this over with. "Gah I hope this works." He muttered to himself, placing the knife on his neck and making a small cut.

"What in the name of the great Nazi are you doing?" Brutus squeaked as he saw blood gushing out of the other man's neck. Jou grabbed the pen and unscrewed it, ignoring the man's shouting. "No! Not my pen! My baby! Don't you dare put that-"

Jou quickly slide it into the Hitori's neck. "Breathe damn it!" Katuysa hissed, his heart pounding wildly in his head. He sighed, falling back onto his hands when Hitori took a shaking breath. "Thank god."

"What's going on here?" he hear an icy voice behind him.

'_Crap, so much for not running into Kaiba.' _He groaned, feeling an itching in the back of his throat.

"Hitori?" Jou heard Len's voice behind him. "What happened?" he rushed next to Jou.

"Peanuts." Jou gasped out before going into a fit of coughs.

"A tracheostomy? Where did you learn to do that?" Len asked turning a bewildered look to Jou.

"Read about it." He muttered once he stopped coughing. He didn't make eye contact with anyone as he stood.

"Kaiba-sama, the ambulance is here sir." The secretary said, gaping at the man lying on the floor.

"Hn." Kaiba watched the blonde. His frame was hunched over, and he looked paler then usual. '_Damn mutt. I told him he'd get sick.'_ "Have them take Gunaka-san to Sakura Hospital."

"Yes sir."

Jou slunk towards the locker room door, he wasn't feeling well at the moment and needed to sit down. Not to mention he had no desire to talk to the confusing CEO. Everyone was running around trying to help Hitori, so Katsuya managed to get into the room, and pulled his fresh clothes out of his locker without anyone following. He sighed, _'Mission, "Avoid Kaiba" is still a success._'

"Mutt."

'_Damn it._' Jou sighed, "What is it Kaiba?" He walked behind half wall to change out of his sweat soaked shorts. He really had no desire to finish the class in jeans and a t-shirt, but it was a better option then his now red, shorts and shirt.

"What the hell happened back there?" the blue eyed man crossed his arms, following the younger man's movements.

"He had an allergic reaction." Jou shrugged, pulling a white t-shirt on.

'_I see his dressing style is still as mangy as before.' _Seto smirked as the blonde walked back to his open locker and stuffed his gym shorts and old shirt into his bag. "That's not what I meant and you know it, flee bag."

"I have no idea what you're talking about then." He decided to let the dog comment slide, in all honesty he was too tired to care at the moment.

It's pointless to say Seto didn't like the blonde's answer, "How did you know how to do that dog!" he snapped, his anger giving way ever so slightly.

Katsuya shrugged, "I read it somewhere." He clenched his hand into a small fist around the locker door, "And you will stop calling me a dog, Kaiba!"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, "You read? Hah don't make me laugh, mutt. What are you hiding?" he took a step closer to the blonde. "I don't like liars, and I don't like repeating myself so answer my question, make inu." (3)

Jou glared, "You aren't my boss, Money-bags. I don't need to answer your question, nor do I intend to!" He shouted. He did the best not to wince as the scratchy feeling flared in the back of his throat. He tried to clear his throat, only to break into a violent coughing fit.

"Stupid pup. I told you, you'd get sick." Seto sighed, his voice slightly softer.

"Shut… up… ass… hole." he gasped out between coughs. Jou's hand went up, leaning against the wall. He was getting annoyed with the nonstop coughing.

"Hay." Seto's brow furrowed as he placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Calm down." Still coughing. "Breath puppy." His hand went to the blonde's forehead. "You're burning up pup." He grabbed Jou's arm "What are you doing here when you're clearly sick." His voice was harsh, but not cruel. He wanted an answer, and Jou was too tired to argue.

"Had to… or else I'd… lose job…" Jou rasped.

Seto sighed, "Come on." He pulled the smaller towards the door.

"Look Kaiba…." He took a few deep breaths I need to get back out there. I have to finish the day, and Kenji's supposed to be here, and I have to-"

"Shut up" the blue-eyed man sighed, "You're obviously sick, and have no business in that class, let alone out of bed." He turned his glare to the blonde. "You're going to get him sick, and I'm sure you don't want that."

Jounouchi blinked, opening his mouth to argue only to close it again, his eyes flashing. "You have no business telling me what to do with my life, and how to raise my son."

Blue-eyes narrowed, "I'm not arguing this with you. There is no point in the debate, because you are coming." Seto growled, pulling the blondes arm.

"Where?" Katsuya tried to pull away from the CEO's grip.

"To my office where Len's going to look you over." He pulled Jou, effectively getting the blonde to stumble out of the door. The hallways had cleared, and his workers didn't seem to notice him dragging the coughing blonde to the elevator.

"Len?" He knew that name, but couldn't put any thought behind it. Reluctantly he let the brunette pull him into the large elevator.

They stood there in silence, Katsuya leaning against the wall for support, as Kaiba hit the button to his office. Jou couldn't quite see what number, but assumed it must be high up when it took awhile for the elevator's door to ding open. He blinked, his vision seemed a bit fuzzier then usual, and why was he feeling cold all of a sudden.

Seto raised an eyebrow, seeing the blonde begin to shiver in the corner. "Pup?" he put a hand on his shoulder. "Hay." He shook the shorter man. Jou blinked, grasping onto Seto's jacket sleeve. He shook his head, his other hand going to his head. "Puppy?" Caramel eyes turned towards blue.

"Wha…?"

He sighed, "Come on, Pup." Putting his arm around the blonds waste, Seto pulled Jou out of the elevator and down the hall to his office. Surprisingly, the blonde didn't struggle against the gesture of help.

'_Damn it.' _Jou silently cursed himself, _'Why does it have to be him?'_

"Kaiba-sama?" The CEO's secretary questioned as she saw the two.

"Call Len, tell him to get up here now." he glared coolly at her before he slammed his office door shut.

Jou winced at the loud noise, and moved away from the blue-eyed man. "Sit." He was, to his surprised, gently pushed towards a couch. Katsuya gladly fell onto soft black leather, wondering when he had started to feel so exhausted, and why he hadn't noticed how heavy he felt. He didn't care if Kaiba was there; he was too tired to give a damn about it. _'I'll just rest my eyes for a second. Yeah, that's it. He's on the phone, so he won't…even… notice…'_

"-I don't care. Get him over here, or you're fired….. I'm glad we agree." Kaiba snarled, hanging up the phone. "I swear I don't even know why I keep idiots like her arou- Hay!" He shot forward, grabbing the falling blonde. "Idiot." He sighed, "Couldn't at least lie down before you fainted." Seto wasn't sure why he was so gentle, but he slowly lifted the unconscious blonde onto the couch.

"Why would you push yourself so hard?" But he knew why, '_I did the same thing for Mokuba.'_ This was a new side to the pup. Of course he knew the other was loyal to his friend, but this dedication to his son was a side of Jou that Seto had never seen. Shaking his head, he slid his trench coat off, and draped the navy material across the sleeping blonde.

--

"I don't know where he is Kenj'."

"But Uncle Honda, he has to be around here some where!" Kenji smiled up at his father's friend, "We'll find him!"

Honda couldn't help but smile at the small boy's positive attitude. "Uncle Mokuba!" the blonde suddenly shouted, taking off down the hall.

The brunette blinked, looking up to see a slender man with raven hair at the end of the hall. "Holy, shi-shivers!" Honda quick covered his original choice of wording, "Mokuba? Is that really you?" he blinked a few times.

The black haired boy turned towards him and smiled, "Hello Honda! It's so great to see you! How are you?"

"I'm fine." He mumbled, "Man kid, you sure grew up!" Mokuba laughed.

"Uncle Mokuba what are you doing here! Are you here to see my daddy too?" Kenji continued to hug the smaller mans leg.

It was the young Kaiba's turn to blink, "Jou's here?"

Kenji smiled, and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah!" he paused, a worried look coming across the young features, "But we can't find him."

"He was here for some job class." Honda tried to explain, but didn't know the full details.

"Hmm. We can ask Seto. He might know."

Honda opened his mouth to argue, "We have to hurry! Uncle Honda has a date with Uncle Otogi tonight!" Kenji beamed over at the brunette.

"When?" Mokuba turned back to the older man with a smile or his own.

"An hour." Honda rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"What? And you haven't even changed out of your work cloths! I'll look after Kenji and find Jou. You get out of here and get ready for your hot date!" Mokuba suggested.

"I can't do that, Mokuba. I promised Jou I'd watch him, and you must have other things planed!" Honda shook his head.

"Not really. And Seto and I watched Kenji a few days ago. Isn't that right, Kenji?"

"The Dragon Man? He promised we would finish the book." Kenji nodded, "Can I go with Uncle Mokuba?" He turned his pleading hazel eyes towards the tall brunette.

"Jou's not going to like this." Honda muttered, before he finally gave in and sighed, "Fine. But when Jou gets all motherly you two better remember you were the ones begging for it."

Mokuba laughed, "Alright. See you Honda. And enjoy the date." He winked.

"Thanks." Honda blushed, and turned to walk towards the door.

"Ready?" Mokuba asked, turning to the small blonde.

Kenji nodded, "Um… can we get something to eat first? I'm really hungry!"

The coal haired man laughed, "Burgers sound alright?"

"Yeah!" Kenji jumped, "Then, we'll go see the Dragon Man and find my Daddy!"

* * *

1. Hahaha I am going to have SO much fun with the character!!! I might even bring him back in other chapters…. Maybe even different stories! Hahaha. I think I'm in love xD hahaha jk. I also hope no one is offended by his character. I'm not a Nazi or something. Most of my friends are Jewish. So please don't feel like I was trying to attack your religion, because that was not my intention.

2. I donno if I spelled his name right. But he's from La Corda d'Oro. In this fic he's much older and doesn't play the violin a living. He still plays, but more out of pleasure than money these days though. Some of you might be mad at me for having Len in it, but he's older then Kaiba and there is nothing sexual between the two at all…. That's a weird pairing. O.o

3. "Make inu" is Japanese for "dog," or "mutt."

Lime Rocker: Well it was slightly longer then my other chapters and I hope you enjoy it. Sorry it took me so long to update. Life is really busy these days. I'll try to update sooner next chapter.

Anyway, there were a few moments between Seto and Jou. I'm hoping in the next few chapters to actually develop the idea of a relationship between the two.

I'd also like to say that our Hikari's and Yami's will be entering soon. Maybe not in the next chapter (although I will try…) but they will be coming in the next few chapters! =D

Peace and much love.

LR


	5. Ch 5: Operation Dragon Man and Daddy

Lime Rocker: Hello! I'm back again with the next installment of "The Consequences of Change." Sorry, I know some of you thought that the story was over, but far from it! From my calculations there's going to be somewhere around 20 chapters when I am finished.

**Due to a few new ideas I have for future chapters, I have raised the rating of the story to mature. **(This does not mean I write "over the top," but I will leave less to the imagination if you catch my drift. BUT NO SEX!!! Sorry, won't write it.)

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, maybe (at least mentions of)BakuraxRyou

Rating: M for Mature (**RATEING HAS CHANGED FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS!**)

* * *

Chapter 5: Operation Dragon Man and Daddy

A soft moan escaped from the black couch to his right. "That didn't last long." Kaiba Seto didn't look up from the 2 week old newspaper he was reading – he needed something to take his mind, and eyes, off the sick blonde.

"Wh…" Jou sighed softly, "Where-" he moved to his elbows, feeling a stinging in the back of his throat. Fear was shining in the disoriented caramel eyes. He barely had time to take a breath before he burst into a small coughing fit.

Seto put the old paper down, and gracefully sat forward. "Shh. It's okay, Pup. Calm down, you're in my office. My doctor should be here soon." He rubbed the blonde's back softly, trying to calm him down.

"What happened?" Jou rasped out, unconsciously leaning towards the blue-eyed CEO. He kept his eyes closed, trying to steady his breathing.

"You're sick, thought it was a good idea to go to a fitness class when in reality-"

"-Please." The smaller sighed, shoulders slumping forward, "I know-"he started to cough again. Shaking his head he tried again, "You know what… what I me-"

"-I took you to my office after Hitori went to the hospital. Len went with him, but he's on his way." Seto shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "You passed out the second you sat down" he snickered, "-and almost fell off the couch."

Jou blinked, "Almost?" He looked down noticing a navy coat that was covering him. Seto turned, his face a little colored.

There was a soft knock on the door, "Come in." Seto stood, his expression hardening as a white haired man, 10 or 15 years older than Seto, walked in.

He bowed slightly to his employer, "You called, Sir?"

"Len?" Kaiba turned slightly, hearing the blonde stand. Blue-eyes watched closely as Jou took a few shaky steps to stand behind the CEO. "What are you doing here?"

'_You shouldn't be standing, pup.'_ Seto thought to himself. "He's going to see exactly what you have." He informed the blonde, raising a slender eyebrow at the blinking brown eyes.

"Oh…" Jou muttered, swaying slightly. Seto sighed, turning as the other's eye fluttered closed. Kaiba gently grabbed Katsuya's shoulders so the falling figure wouldn't hit the floor. The half-conscious Jou instinctively grabbed on to Kaiba's shirt, his fingers clutching onto the soft fabric above the CEO's elbows.

"Sir?" Len had never seen his employer so… worried about someone outside the Kaiba family before. _'Could it be he's finally opening up?'_

Seto turned back to the doctor, the blonde's head lulled against the taller man's chest, brown eyes distant and half-lidded. "I need you to figure out the extent of his illness."

Len nodded, "Yes, sir." He watched Kaiba take a step towards the couch, and lay the blonde back down. '_Hn.'_ He smirked, but hid it quickly. "May I ask you to leave, Sir."

"What?" Seto turned, his blue eyes dark.

"It's protocol, Sir." Len bowed his head slightly.

"This is my office. I will not be leaving. Anything that occurs in here, I will be present for." His voice was slowly growing.

"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but-"

"Enough Tsukimori!" Seto snapped, "This is my office, my company, and you work for me! Therefore-" Something grabbed the cuff of his sleeve. Seto looked down at the blonde.

"Please Seto…" Jou whispered weakly, he was blinking several times, trying to focus on the other's face.

"It won't take long." Len knelt next to Jounouchi, setting his bag down, and pulling out a stethoscope.

Kaiba sighed.

"Amazing." Len remarked once he heard the door behind him click. He shook his head stunned.

"Hn?" Jou blinked, moving his eyes off the door the brown haired CEO had just vanished behind.

"How long have you known Kaiba-san?" He asked, grabbing one of his otoscope and looked in one of Jou's ears.

"Mmm… Since high school." Jounouchi snickered weakly, "We don't get along at all."

"What do you mean?" Len grabbed a tongue depressor and small flashlight once he finished looking at Jou's other ear.

"We've never gotten along. Always fighting and-" he sneezed, "-arguing. I donno. I hates me."

Len bit back a laugh, "Open your mouth…." He shinned the light to see Jou's throat. "Well, I highly doubt he hates you." Jou turned his head, his muddled mind confused, "Do you hate him, Jounouchi-san?" Len raised an eyebrow.

Katsuya blinked, Len moved back to his bag and began digging through it looking for something. "I… I don't hate him." He shook his head. "He can just be difficult sometimes. And it doesn't matter if I hate him or not. He's an ass, and treats me like a dog." He paused, watching the doctor for a moment, "You're…. you're not going to take any blood are you?" Jou swallowed, trying to keep the desire to cough down, but the scratching finally got the best of him and he broke out into a small coughing fit.

"How long have you been sick?" Len asked, changing the subject.

"… I don't know…. A few days?" He tried to clear his throat, the clogging ball feeling coming back.

"How many is a few days?" Len put the stethoscope on his back, "Breath in…" Jou did so, fighting back the urge to cough again. "... out…."

"Uh… 2 days…. 3.. maybe 4 but that seems to be pushing it…" Katsuya shivered wrapping his arms around himself, feeling unusually cold. '_Damn the Motrin must be wearing off.' _

"Hn… What were you doing?" Len raised an eyebrow looking up at the blonde.

Katsuya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well, ehh… I had to walk to Kaiba's from work, to get my son, Kenji, because my engine froze over…. That was about 5 days ago" He laughed nervously.

Len blinked, "Why the hell didn't you call a cab or something?"

Jou shrugged, "We're not allowed to."

"Here. Take this." Len pulled out a bottle of pills. He handed two of them to Jou. "It'll help with the coughing." Jou nodded, before swallowing them. "I never understood how people can take those without water." Jou shrugged, yawning slightly. "It'll help you sleep too."

--

Kaiba Seto was a fair man. When giving an employee an order he was sure to allow an extra 5 minutes for them to finish their task before he'd fire them. If it took him 10 minutes to do something, he would give who ever it was 15 minutes. Yes, he was very fair, but not patient. He had been waiting exactly 46 minutes and 13 seconds for his doctor to exit his office.

Generally he didn't like, and would never even consider, leaving his office for anyone, but something about the blonde's pleading request forced him to obey. It unnerved him, they way the blonde made him feel. He certainly didn't remember having it back in high school. Seto growled to himself, _'What the hell is wrong with me? I have absolutely no feelings for that mutt.' _

The door opened with a soft creak, forcing the billionaire from his thoughts. "Well?" Kaiba crossed his arms, not bothering to stand up from the large chair he had occupied during his wait.

"He's in no danger at the moment, but he does have a case of pneumonia. I'm afraid though, if he keeps with his current pushing it will get worse, and may even evolve into bronchitis. He needs sleep, to take it easy for a few weeks. His body is extremely weak; I'm not sure how he could stay on his feet let alone the treadmill. While that is impressive, it's not safe."

"I don't need a lecture on safety. It's not what I'm paying you for." Seto stated coolly as he stood, "What is the prescribed treatment?"

"I gave him a bottle of pills to help with the pain and coughing. It should help him sleep as well… the side effects are excessive drowsiness." Len explained when Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "He needs a lot of rest, as I've said before, and to eat." He shook his head, "He has a kid, and I honestly have no idea how things are going to work." Len confessed.

"He'll be staying with me."

Len blinked, hiding his smirk, _'I told you, Jounouchi-san. There is no hatred here.'_ "Sir?" he questioned, playing innocent.

"Mokuba will like the company." The CEO explained quickly, 'W_hy the hell did I just do that?' _He mentally slapped himself, but quickly shoved the thought aside, _'I'll think about it later!'_

"He will indeed, Sir. Is there anything else I can do, Sir?" He could already guess the answer though.

"How is Hitori?" Kaiba asked politely.

"I don't know." Len relaxed slightly, seeing his employer slip to casual conversation. "I intend to head over to the hospital next."

Seto nodded, "Let me know how he is, and if I can do anything."

Len nodded and bowed, "Good evening, Sir."

"Good night." He turned towards his office doors, opening them and walking in gracefully. "See, I told you, you were pushing yourself. What would Kenji do if your condition worsened?"

Katsuya jerked awake, his half conscious mind barely registering someone's icy voice bellowing above him. He blinked, looking up at the blurred shape. "Hn…?"

Kaiba sighed, "Come on. Get your stuff together." He ordered gently, making his way to his desk and gathered a few small piles of papers and folders.

"Where are we going?" Jou sat up onto one hand, rubbing his eye with his other in an attempt to wake up.

"Home. You need sleep…" Seto didn't look up from his laptop which he was turning off and placing it into his brief case.

"Mnn… can't… Gotta get Kenji…" Jounouchi muttered, sitting up fully and swinging his legs over the side of the couch. "Honda… was supposed to drop him off after the class…" he continued to mutter almost incoherently.

"Pup, the class was over a good 3 hours ago." Seto raised an eyebrow at the blonde who in returned stared back at him with wide brown eyes. He sighed, picking up the phone on his desk, "Yes this is Kaiba. Yes, I am looking for two people… yes my brother… ah so the kid's with him… yes inform them to meet me downstairs. We're leaving." He clicked the phone down and grabbed his, now full, silver brief case. "It would seem my brother has again picked up a stray." He smirked to himself, _'Much like myself…'_ he added silently.

Jou continued to blink, his caramel eyes darkening after a moment, "Never-" he stood "-"-refer to my son as a stray. It's one thing when you say such demeaning things to me. But I will not accept you saying them about-" he closed his eyes, his hand running through his hair. "-Kenji…"

"Come on." He said softly, gently grabbing the blondes arm. "They're waiting downstairs."

--

The limo ride back to the mansion was one of the most awkward rides Kaiba Seto had ever had. Not because of the sick blonde currently sleeping next to him, the little boy sleeping on his father's lap with his head pillowed on the CEOs leg, or even the mischievous look his little brother was giving him. None of them seemed to bother him, and that's where the problem started. These strange events seemed to be normal, which was odd.

It had begun to rain, which always seemed to relax the busy brunette, but he still couldn't figure out why he kept thinking about the blonde. Even now, with the blonde's head bobbing against the window, Seto couldn't stop the nagging in the back of his head. _'Why the hell am I even helping him?'_ he yelled at himself. He never showed kindness to anyone other then his brother. Even in his later years, he was not known for his compassion. Mokuba was the only one given the privilege to see his softer side. So, why was he helping out the mutt? In unnerved him. He didn't know why, he just did. He growled to himself, looking out the window again.

"You okay Seto?" Mokuba asked, interrupting the silence.

"Hn. Just tired, Moki." He smiled at his younger brother.

"Seto, do you mind if I go out tonight?"

"Hn. You're an adult. No need to ask for my permission." Seto smiled at his brother, "Have fun. Just try to be back before 3 in the morning, like last time."

Mokuba laughed nervously, "No need to worry about that, dear brother." The limo stopped and the driver let Mokuba out at his usual club.

"Thanks Ferio." Mokuba winked at the man.

Ferio nodded, "Any time, Sir." He turned back to Seto. "Home, I trust, Master Kaiba?"

"Hai." Seto nodded before turning back to the window, enjoying the silence. Blue eyes turned down to the blonde head resting on his leg. '_The mutt's kid certainly is interesting. The fact the mutt could raise a kid was some what surprising.'_ Seto wondered for a brief moment why he wasn't down right shocked at the idea of the blonde man having a kid. He could easily picture it. Back in high school, if someone told him Jou would have a kid, he would have laughed in their face. Seto smiled to himself, remembering the bickering they two of them went through. He shook his head. So many things had changed.

Kenji rolled over to face the back of the seat. He blindly grabbed his father's hand, moving it onto his shoulder so he could snuggle closer. Seto raised an eyebrow as the blonde child wrapped his arms around his, holding the CEO's arm. Kaiba couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips. He played with a strand of the boy's hair, more memories of Mokuba as a child came flooding back to him. Jou moved a little, muttering something in his sleep. Kenji rolled his shoulder, and Jou's hand slid down, resting next to Seto's. Their hands were almost touching, but even with the distance Seto could feel heat pulsating off of the, unusually pale, skin. He sighed, moving his other hand up to feel the blonde's forehead. "Hn. The fever's back." He made a mental note to give the pup another pill before he fell asleep.

He turned his attention back to the window, and inwardly cursed. They were driving past the park, which instantly got him thinking of the dreams he had been having. He shook his head, he wasn't going to think about it. His head hurt and he was too tired to deal with it. But soon his thoughts of the dreams turned into a play back of the past few days…

"_**Please Seto…"**_

_**The man turned to him, his eyes dark and out of focus. "S… Seto?"**_

"_**Shut… up… ass… hole." Jou gasped out between coughs. The blonde's hand went up, leaning against the wall.**_

_**He wasn't sure why he was so gentle, but he slowly lifted the unconscious blonde onto the couch.**_

_**He pinched the bridge of his nose, his blue eyes closed. "I'm not going to eat you." He sighed, sitting down in the black leather chair.**_

"_**I'm 4, thank you very much." Kenji huffed, crossing his arms.**_

"_**Mai." He heard the blonde whispered. "I was out with the gang at a club. Had a bit too much to drink" Jou shrugged, "12 months later she's at my doorstep with a little baby in her hands, puts him in my arms and leaves. Haven't seen her since. I heard she and Valon got married."**_

"_**After 20 years you're still just as idiotic as you were in High School mutt."**_

"_**What does it matter to you?" Jou snapped, glaring.**_

_**Mokuba smiled, "Oh so you noticed how he looked."**_

"_**Anyway, I should be going. But remember it's not nice to yell at people. My dad always says that if you yell at someone or make fun of them then you won't have any friends."**_

"_**Kai… Kaiba!? Oh my gosh! I didn't know you were back in Domino!" The blonde smiled, "You look so different. I have to admit I didn't recognize you for a moment… Same old blue eyes though."**_

_**He shrugged, "I don't see what the big deal is."**_

"_**Perhaps you're still an arrogant prick who takes every chance to call people dogs and people don't want to deal with it?" Jou suggested, tapping the pen lightly on his chin in a mock 'Hmm this could be a hard one to crack' gesture.**_

A picture of a broken Jou lying in the snow flashed in his mind. Kaiba looked over at the mop of golden hair and sighed. _'Stupid mutt…' _He couldn't explain this sudden need to take care of the blonde boy, but something inside him commanded that he do so. It actually wasn't so bad. Well, that didn't make sense to him either, but-

"-Sir, we're pulling into the gates." Ferio informed his employer.

"Hn. Thank you." Kaiba nodded, before Ferio rolled up the black wall again. He turned to the two sleeping blondes. "Mutt…"he lightly elbowed the blonde, only getting a groan and Jounouchi shifting away. Seto shook his head. "Come on Pup." He grabbed the blondes hand and elbowed him again.

"Mmm notta… dog…" Jou muttered, and tried to move away from the jabbing.

"Come on." Seto gently pulled his arm out from the sleeping child's grasp and took hold of the blonde man's shoulders and shook gently. "It's time to go to an actual bed now." He snickered as the chocolate eyes blinked open.

"Mmm… what?" Jou sat up, rubbing the kink in his neck. "Gah!" he winced.

"That's what you get for sleeping like that." He scolded.

"Mmnn… not the neck… my head is pounding." Katsuya groaned, holding his head in his hands.

"I thought as much. I'll give you some more of those pills when we get inside." Seto slowly undid his seat belt as the approached the house.

"What?" Jou turned to the brunette blinking in confusion.

Kaiba sighed, "Just come." He ordered as Ferio opened the door for the CEO. He gently pulled Kenji out of the car, as he stood up. He turned back to the open door, and offered a hand to Katsuya, balancing the boy in his other arm.

Under normal circumstances Jou would have refused the offered hand, but the fact there were six hands spinning in front of him made him think better of the offer. He shifted the weight of his tired body, and grabbed what he thought would be the others hand, only to find air. He didn't even register himself lose his balance until he felt something grab his wrist. Jou held onto the other as best as he could. He heard Seto sigh, and help him out of the car. _'Damn. Why do I have to feel so dead?'_

"Come on Pup. Almost there."

'_Why does it have to be him? Why do I have to be so weak now, around him?'_ Jounouchi mentally cursed himself. Jou stood straighter, and held out his arms. "I can carry him."

Seto turned, but didn't argue. "Alright." Jou lifted Kenji off of Seto's shoulder.

"Mmm… Daddy I'm tired."

"I know, kiddo." Jou rubbed his son's back. "Thanks." Jou muttered to Seto when he held the door open for the two.

"Put the kid in a bed room, up the stairs 7 doors down on the left. I'll be up in a minute."

Jou nodded, slowly making his way up the stairs and down the hall, his son in hand.

Kaiba turned, walking down a hall towards his kitchen. He pulled out his cell phone, "Hai, Mio-san. I will be working from home for a few days. Push my meetings back a week, and forward all calls to my home study line... Yes… Very good." He snapped his phone shut, and slid it back into his pocket.

"Kaiba-sama! You're home early."

Seto looked up to see his head maid, and family chef. He nodded, "Something came up."

"I see… Can I get anything, Sir?" She watched in confusion as the CEO pulled a glass from the cupboard.

"Hn. Are the guest rooms equipped for inhabitance?" Seto held the cup under an opening in the silver and black refrigerator and hit a button for ice.

"Yes sir. As requested more then 20 years ago, the rooms are always ready." She crossed her arms, smiling kindly at her employer, "May I ask why?"

"I would have thought it would be obvious." He moved to another opening and hit another button, a small stream of iced water falling into the cup.

"What I meant was, what boring business associate are we housing?"

"They're not a business associates." He tapped his foot, waiting impatiently for the glass to fill.

"You mean you actually have friends…. staying over?"

Kaiba turned to her and raised an elegant eyebrow, "Why look so shocked Risa-san?"

"Kaiba-san, I have worked for you since you were 15 years old, that's 23 years, and never once have you had a single friend over." Risa beamed at him, her hands now resting on her somewhat wide hips.

"Hn. Well, I wouldn't say we're friends… more of acquaintances I suppose." He paused for a moment, "Yes, acquaintances from high school." Honestly, it would be like mortal enemies back in high school, but he didn't want to get into the details. Risa would undoubtedly ask questions he couldn't answer. Like why had he opened his home to someone he apparently used to hate.

Seto sighed, nothing made sense anymore. "See you in the morning." He turned, making his way back up stairs to the sick mutt and his son. "Oh." Kaiba paused, "I'll be working at home for awhile." He didn't bother to wait for her reaction.

Risa blinked at the now closed door. Seto had never worked from home for more than a day, even when he was sick. Actually, when she thought about it, he had always managed to go to Kaiba Crop. even if it was only for a few hours. And then there were two mystery guests staying in his house. Risa tapped her chin in thought, _'Something certainly has changed._' And she was going to find out what.

--

"You look horrible, Daddy." Kenji yawned as he was gently put into a soft bed.

"Thanks." Jou smiled down at his duplicate, before tickling his son's sides. "How nice of you!" he laughed enjoying spending time with his son after a long day.

"Ah no!" Kenji yelped between giggles, squirming around on the bed. "No! Da-Dad! Haha… stop!"

Jou mentally sighed, the sound of his son laughter, ending a gloomy day with a bright moment, made him feel well again. But it was interrupted quickly, the feeling of the tickling sensation coming back to his throat.

Kenji sat up, his father hunched over the other side of the bed. "Daddy?" He whispered, his father having a violent couching spell. He rubbed his father's back, "Are you okay?" His father nodded, but continued to cough.

"I leave you alone for 3 minutes and you end up in trouble again." Kenji looked up at the door to see the tall blue-eyed man walking into the room. "Here." Seto handed a glass of water to the coughing blonde. '_Silly Dragon Man, Daddy never accepts help, even when he needs it.' _He shook his head a little, remembering the time his Uncle Honda had gotten a hamburger for his father the last time he was sick. _'Daddy started yelling and Uncle Honda, something about being able to get his own food.'_

"Thanks" Jou croaked, taking a long gulp of water. Kenji blinked a few times, watching the interaction of the two. _'The way the Dragon Man looks at Daddy, it's different then the way Uncle Honda or Uncle Otogi look at him.' _

"Hn." Seto crossed his arms, before going to lean against the doorframe, obviously waiting for the other man.

Kenji smiled to himself, _'Uncle Honda and Uncle Otogi are together…'_ The idea that popped into his head was genius. He was after all a child protégée (1). _'This could actually work!'_

Jou sat up, turning back to Kenji. "See, all better." Kenji forced a smile onto his face. "You okay sleeping here?"

Kenji nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! It's going to be fun." He paused, his face slacking, "Daddy, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Kenji had never seen his father cough so much.

Katsuya stared at his son. "I..." He leaned forward, hugging his son. "Kenj' everything's going to be alright. I'm going to be fit as a fiddle before you even know it."

"I'm not 3 anymore. I'm not going to fall for that line." Kenji said flatly, as he returned the hug.

"You're dad is going to be alright. He just needs sleep." Seto stated mater a factly.

"Then, Seto-sama, make sure Daddy gets all the rest he needs! He seems to only listen to you." Kenji crossed his arms and glared at the brunette.

Jou turned a bright shade of red, "Wait… what!?" Kenji continued to look at the CEO as Jou blinked and started at him in shock. Kaiba gave a nod, and Kenji smiled. _'Operation Dragon Man and Daddy commence now!'_

* * *

(1) You know how little kids think they're super heros? Well Kenji thinks he's the smartest kid alive and therefore has to help out the adults. Lol When I was little I thought I was going to be some ninja who saved the world… so don't judge little Kenji here… or me xD haha

Lime Rocker: Alright, so sorry this one is kind of shorter then my other ones. Next chapter Yami and Yuugi WILL enter the picture. I hope you all are pumped. xD

I'll try to have that up as soon as possible. I have 7 papers due and they're all over 20 pages Oh and not to mention finals and a few projects. Needless to say it might be a few weeks until I have the thing even written and then I have to proof read it and then give it to my friend to proof read. So I want to apologize early for the delay of the next chapter.

_**HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**_


	6. Ch 6: Dreaming In and Out

Lime Rocker: Alright so here's the next installment of "The Consequences of Change." Sorry it took so long to update. I had to send it in to get fixed, got over loaded with papers, final projects, more final papers, and then midterms with a college final on top of it all. Thankfully my college class has ended so I can devote more time to writing!

I want to thank all the reviewers!!! You guys seriously keep me going!

**Due to a few new ideas I have for future chapters, I have raised the rating of the story to mature.**

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, maybe (at least mentions of)BakuraxRyou

Rating: M for Mature (**RATEING HAS CHANGED FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS!**)

* * *

Chapter 6: Dreaming In and Out

He wasn't sure which was a dream and which wasn't. If he wasn't shrouded in blackness, he was staring up at white. Sometimes if he was lucky, there would be the most beautiful blue, Jounouchi Katsuya had ever seen.

Jou was vaguely aware of times when someone would be hovering over him; after awhile his curiosity kicked in and Jou would try to focus on the blob he knew to be a person, but his tired mind wouldn't allow it, and he would slip back into unconsciousness.

--

"This book is boring."

"You're the one who wanted to finish it."

"Yeah, but I didn't know it was going to be so boring. Can we do something else instead?"

Kaiba Seto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I have work to do." It was currently 3:30 in the afternoon, and he hadn't gotten a thing done all day.

"All you ever do is work. Come on!" Kenji turned to look at the blue eyed man. "Daddy works a lot too, but he always plays with me." He paused, looking down at the wood flooring of the man's home office. "Is… is he okay?"

Seto blinked, putting the book down on his desk. Leaning back in the lush leather chair, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's fine. He's still sick, and needs sleep, but he's doing alright." Kaiba sighed.

"Kenji, do you want to play a video game with me?" Mokuba asked, popping his head into Seto's home office. "Hello, 'Nii-sama." He nodded at his older brother.

Kaiba smiled at his little brother and nodded in return, "Mokuba." Seto laughed softly to himself as Kenji bounced over to the raven haired boy.

"Yeah! What game?" Kenji cheered, and the two disappeared through the door.

--

Sometimes there was a voice. He didn't know who it was, but it was there. Always telling him things were okay. It was odd, Jou didn't know why, but the voice was a comfort to him. He would get his mind working enough to worry about Kenji, and the voice would always tell him Kenji was okay. He didn't even need to say his concerns, the voice just seemed to know them.

What was even more confusing, was when darkness overtook Katsuya again, he found himself wanting to hear the stranger's comforting voice again.

'_Who… who are you?'_

--

"Where's Mokuba?" the boy sighed.

"I believe he is out doing research for some school assignment." Kaiba paused his typing. '_That reminds me… why hasn't he gone back to school.'_ He grabbed a pen from his desk and scribbled a note reminding him to ask Mokuba about it later.

"Can we do something?" He turned chocolate puppy dog eyes towards the man. "You work too much."

Seto sighed, and put down the file he was currently reading. "I know what we can do." The blue eyed man leaned forward, opening a drawer. "Do you know what Duel Monsters are?"

Kenji shook his head.

This surprised Seto slightly, _'You would think the mutt would have bragged about his "glory days." If you can even call them that.' _Seto laughed slightly, "Well it's a card game." He handed the boy a deck of cards "Would you like me to teach you how to play?"

"Whoa. Yes please!" Kenji smiled up at the brunette.

"Alright. Well this is a monster card. You attack with these." Seto held up a tan card, and handed it to the blond boy, then shuffled through the cards a bit, pulling out a purple card, "This is a trap card. If someone attacks you, you can use these to block it or counter attack."

--

He had no idea where he was. All he did know was the room was huge and beautiful, the bed was soft, and none of it was familiar.

A moan escaped his lips, _'Gah… my head…'_

"Here dear." Katsuya turned towards the voice, to see an older woman with gray eyes and brownish gray hair pulled back into a bun. She held a glass of water and a bottle of pills, one in each of her hands.

"Um. Thanks." Jou smiled slightly, gratefully taking the pain killers and water. "Could you… ah…. Could you tell me what happened?" the blonde asked sheepishly after he swallowed the tablets.

"I'm afraid I don't know much, Jounouchi-sama." She smiled, "What I do know is that Master Kaiba came home early several days ago, proclaimed he would need two guest rooms, and that he would be working from the home office for a few weeks."

"How long have I been asleep? Kaiba's here? Where's Kenji?" Jou blinked, "… Jounouchi-sama?"

"Well you've woken up several times through out the past five days, but apparently you don't remember any of it… It doesn't surprise me though. You were pretty out of it." She shook her head, brown curls shaking behind her head as she smiled kindly down at him. "Are you hungry or anything?"

Jou sat up slowly, ignoring the dizziness and sinking feeling in his stomach. "Where's Kenji? I have to see him." He could feel panic sinking into him.

"I do believe he is with Master Kaiba. No need to get up… Please sir." She leaned forward, trying to prevent the blond from getting up from the bed. "Please lay back down. You need more sleep."

"As soon as I see my son, I'll come right back I promise, but Kenji comes first." He moved towards the door, his legs shaking under him. "Where is he?"

The old woman sighed, "I believe he is with Master Kaiba in the study." She hurried after him. "Sir please. I assure you, your son is perfectly safe!"

"If he's with Kaiba I don't doubt that, but he is my son." Jou paused slightly, letting the elderly lady in front of him, and caught his breath.

--

There was a small crack between the doors, allowing him to pick into the large study. Jounouchi was vaguely aware of looking at high selves of books, before two figures sitting at a small table took what little attention he could muster.

"No, that's a magic card, its green. Trap cards are this purple color."

"Oh, so I can't play this now?"

"No, you can, but it won't do anything." He sighed, "Here let me see your hand."

"No! That's cheating!" the kid shrieked, clutching the cards to his chest.

"No its not, I'm trying to teach you how to play, not actually duel you." Kaiba smirked at the small blond, gently pulling the cards forward, "See you've got a good hand, you just need to learn what good combinations are."

Kenji nodded a little, "Like this one? It had a 3000 attack power, so it would go well with this other monster card that boosts dragon attack points." He held up a different card.

Seto smirk grew wider, "Yes, but that card can usually stand by itself. Here. I'll play two cards down and end my turn. Now you draw…"

"Whoa! There's another one!"

He shook his head at the child's enthusiasm. They had cut Seto's deck in half to have a mock duel. "Yes, there are three all together in my deck."

"That's cool. It looks like that one picture." Kenji blinked down at the card, remembering the painting in the CEO's office. "You have some weird obsession with it or something?"

It took all Jounouchi had not to burst out laughing. Never in a million years had he ever thought the "cold hearted," "ruthless" CEO of Kaiba Corporation would ever be teaching a 4-year-old how to duel.

"It's a good card. Why wouldn't I like it?" He could hear Kaiba defending himself.

"Yeah, but aren't you taking it a bit too far. I mean, how many pictures do you have of this thing?" the boy looked at the elder Kaiba expectantly.

"This _thing_, is called the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And I have several paintings." Jou could almost hear the CEO's fumes. "That's not the point. Do you want me to show you how to duel or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Thank you." Katsuya turned back to the maid and nodded, "Can you show me back to the room?"

The lady nodded, and turned making her way slowly down the hall. Jou turned to look back in the room one last time, before following her back to the fluffy bed he could feel calling his sleep deprived mind.

--

He was beginning to get used to the soft white ceiling. Every time he woke up from his drug induced sleep he would find himself staring up at the white sea of plaster. Jounouchi Katsuya sat up, rubbing his throat. His mouth was dry, and felt like there was a wad of cotton in the back of his throat.

"Pills are on the table to your right."

Jou looked up surprised. Kaiba Seto sat seven yards from the bed, typing furiously at his laptop. Katsuya turned to the nightstand next to the bed and picked up the small brown bottle. _'I hate these things.'_ He grabbed it, turning the white lid left and right, but couldn't get it open.

"Push down, turn left." Seto didn't look up from his typing, until he grabbed a file, looked it over, and began typing again.

"I know that!" Jou almost didn't recognize his own voice. It sounded hoarse and alienated. After some difficulty he finally pulled the cap off. "How many do I take?" He asked sighing, before coughed a little in an attempt to clear his throat.

Seto paused, and looked up at the blond "Two." He watched carefully as the other swallowed the tablets with some difficulty. Silently he stood, walking out of the room for a moment.

'_At least the lid is easier to get on than it is off.'_ Jou thought, looking up. He blinked, "Kaiba?" the CEO had just vanished. "…Kaiba?"

"Hmm? What is it Puppy?" Seto walked back into the room, reading a packet of some kind.

Katsuya blinked in confusion. "How did… but you were…" He looked back and forth between the vacant chair and the CEO.

Seto stopped and looked up at the man in the bed, a slender eyebrow raised. "I walked out of the room. What did you think? That I pull some kind of vanishing act?" He smiled slightly, and shook his head. "Silly pup" He walked to the bed and handed the blonde a glass of water. "Here."

'_This seems oddly familiar.' _Jou nodded and took a sip. He turned to Seto, "Kenji…"

"-Is playing some game with Mokuba."

"Oh…" Jounouchi muttered after taking a long gulp of water. He sighed, and leaned against the bed frame. "Thanks." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, drowsiness starting to edge its way in.

"How are you feeling?" Seto inquired, his eyes taking in everything the blonde did.

Jou didn't respond at first. He was having a problem focusing on the question. Confused hazel eyes opened. He looked at the blue-eyed man, his face pulled down. "Wh-what?"

Kaiba sighed, taking the half empty glass of water from the blonde's hand. "Get some more sleep." He placed the glass next to the bottle of pills, and went back to his computer.

Seto turned, expecting protests from the other man, and blinked in surprise. The blond has simply fallen over, lying on his side, his head falling off the pillows that the rest of his body was snuggled on.

Sighing, he made his way back to the bed, and pulled the thick covers down. Gently, he slid the blonde's legs down, under the covers, and adjusted the other's body into a more comfortable position.

Seto paused, his hands gripping the covers. Before he knew what happened, a small smile spread across his lips. He had never noticed how peaceful the golden haired man looked when he was asleep.

Allowing himself a small luxury, blue eyes trailed over the others slim form. To be honest, the mutt was rather attractive. He seemed to have finally grown into his long limbs, and his blond hair still had its shaggy appearance, yet somehow looked somewhat neat.

He half wondered when he had started to open up to the sleeping man. It was strange, he never opened up to anyone other then Mokuba. What was it about Jounouchi that forced him to show his soft side? What had changed in 20 years?

Shaking his head, Kaiba pulled the covers up to the blonde's shoulders. "You really are a silly puppy." He brushed a few strands of golden hair out of the others face before turning back to his work.

--

Whatever had happened while he was asleep had done him wonders. This time, his mind seemed a little less fogged. While he still had a numbing headache, it was at least bearable enough to think straight.

For the first time, Jounouchi took a look around the large room. It was mainly a maroon color with a few black furnishing with gold and white décor. All in all it was a rather lush and breathtaking bed room.

"I wonder where Kenji is." His voice sounded horse, and he noticed his throat hurt, a lot. Sighing, Jou stood up "But first things first. I need a shower!"

--

"Aw. I lost!" Kenji leaned back into the leather couch pouting. "Every time too. I never win!"

Seto chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "You're dueling fine, Kenji." He ruffled the boy's hair playfully.

"Then how come I can't win!" Kenji crossed his arms, glaring up at the elder Kaiba.

"Because," A dry voice sounded from the door. "He always wins." Both duelists looked up to see a lean, blonde figure leaning against the door frame, smiling at the two of them.

"Daddy!" The small blonde cried, rushing towards his taller look-a-like. "Daddy, you're okay! You're here! You're alive!" Kenji latched onto his father's leg, nuzzling the side of it with his face.

Jou smiled down at the boy, hugging him with one arm. "Miss me?"

"You bet!" Kenji smiled up at his father, "But I had a lot of fun with Uncle Mokuba and Seto-sama too!"

"Yes I can see that." Jounouchi's gaze flickered to the CEO for a moment before back down at his smaller self, "So you think you can beat your old man in a duel now?"

"I sure can! Seto-sama is invincible though, and I haven't-" Kenji paused, blinking up at Jou. "Wait a minute. Daddy, you know how to play Duel Monsters?"

He nodded, "I'll show you my deck when we get home."

"Sweet!" Kenji cheered, running back to the couch he was previously sitting on. "Let's have another round, Seto-sama! I'm going to beat you!"

Kaiba shook his head, smirking slightly, "You sound like your father."

Jou blinked, a bit taken aback. "Wha…?" He crossed his arms, "The last time we dueled I almost had you, and you know it."

"That was 20 years ago, pu-" Seto stopped himself, glancing at the boy currently sitting across from him. "How about this then; You two against me." He smirked over at the other man, already knowing the answer. "Unless you're scared?"

"I don't have my deck." Jou glared at the blue eyed man for the dog comment slip up.

"We've been splitting my deck in half, one mutual graveyard and only two blue-eyes in play with the other in the graveyard for more of an even match." Seto rolled his eyes at the last one. It had been Kenji's idea.

Katsuya eyed the other skeptical for a moment before shrugging. "Alright." He sighed, picking Kenji up from his spot on the couch and took it, setting the boy on his lap.

--

"Daddy…" Something was poking his side. "Come on Daddy! It's our turn."

Jou covered a yawn, before sleep filled eyes turned towards his son's hand. "That face down, and this in attack mode." He muttered.

Kenji blinked up at his father. "Umm… I didn't understand that."

"Sorry Kiddo." He rubbed his eyes. "This face down for later, and then this in attack mode." Jou said more clearly. Kenji nodded and did as he was told.

After a while Katsuya felt his eyes growing heavy again, and he fought to stay up. Jou was vaguely aware of Seto calling his play and ending his turn, and Kenji's cry of frustration as his life points were demolished to 100.

"Arg! Lost again! It's not right!"

Yawning Jou took the cards from his son's hands; selecting two and placing them face down then put a monster card facedown in defensive mode. "You still have 100 life points left."

"But it's hopeless! He's going to beat us, Daddy!"

Jou nodded, "I know, but that doesn't mean you go down with out a fight."

Watching to two interact was very amusing to say the least. Watching the pup duel while only having a half functioning brain was even more so. What Seto found very interesting was the many similarities between the father and son.

Kenji was like a smaller version of Jou, yet when it came to dueling the two seemed to be polar opposites. Jounouchi never accepted defeat, yet his son seemed to loose hope before the duel was even over.

Sighing, the eldest Kaiba ended his turn with out doing much other then play a face down card.

"Alright, now look at your hand." Jou's tired voice was strained; making it obvious to the CEO the blonde was exhausted. "What move would you make?"

Kenji blinked down at his hand, "Umm… Can I play this one?" He smiled slightly at the card in his hand. "And then use this one?"

Jou smiled and nodded.

"Okay then. I sacrifice my Giant Soldier of Stone, and summon this." He laid down Seto's favorite card. "Then I use Reborn the Monster to bring back that second Blue-Eyes." He smiled triumphantly. "Now, I attack your monster."

Seto knew what cards he had face down, and he also knew he had 3 different ways of getting out of the predicament. "Good play." He took the face down monster and set it in the graveyard without showing it.

"Now I attack your life points directly." Kenji cheered.

Seto's fingers twitched slightly towards one of his face down cards yet let it be, choosing not to use it. He smiled at the smaller blonde. "See, you shouldn't give up on a victory so quickly."

Jou shifted, moving the cheering boy to the floor. "Good job." He ruffled to boy's hair, "Now, after a marvelous victory, it's time for bed."

"Aww, Daddy! You're such a party pooper!" Kenji pouted playfully at his blonde father.

He shook his head, "Go on. I need to talk to…" he paused eyeing the brunet, not quite knowing how to refer to the other man around his son. "Er… Seto… sama…" '_Yep, not that.'_

Kaiba eyes grew a fraction, '_Why did he just call me…'_

"Okay." Kenji sighed, hugging his father.

'_Ah that's why.'_

"It's good to see you up though Daddy." He smiled, before turning to the blue eyed man. "Thank you for the duels Seto-sama!" he hugged the slightly confused brunet, before bouncing out of the room.

The room remained quiet for what seemed like a millennia. Jou had stood and was currently shuffling his feet. "I hope its okay. They were the only thing I could find in the room."

Kaiba shot a confused glare at the blonde man, wondering what he was talking about. "What are you… oh." He shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I don't usual wear sweat pants anyway. As for the shirt, white's not really my color, I usually only wear it for business things." He smirked slightly; noticing for the first time the way the button down shirt draped across the other's smaller figure, and almost hung off one of his shoulders.

"Uh. Well, um… I… thank you." Jou started suddenly, rubbed the back of his neck.

Seto raised an eye brow. "What ever for?" he crossed his legs and leaned back in the black chair, a small smirk gracing his lips.

"Well, for watching Kenji, letting me crash here, for the doctor and all that, the clothes." Jounouchi had never realized how interesting his shocks were. "I'm really in your debt this time."

"Hn. I suppose so." Kaiba stood, moving towards his desk to get back to work. He was about to pull his laptop out when he turned to Jounouchi in shock. "What's so funny, pup?"

Katsuya shook his head, muffling his small bursts of laughter behind his hand. "Nothing really…" He smiled at the brunet "I just never thought you'd teach a 4-eyar-old how to duel."

Seto crossed his arms, one of his oh-so-famous glares adorning his face. "The kid was bored." He sneered, "If you had rather me ignore him and make him sit there filing all day I could have done that."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes, "That's not what I meant and you know it." He sighed, his hand finding his aching head. "Oh, and thanks for letting him win too." He shot the brunet a soft glare through his hair, "Don't deny it, I know you let him."

He chose to ignore the last comment "Did you take any pills before finding your way in here?" Seto watched the blonde carefully.

He shook his head "No. I just got up, took a shower, and went to go find Kenji."

He started typing vigorously on his laptop. "Go take two and go back to bed. It's late."

"It's only nine o'clock."

"Yes, and for a sick man, that's too late." He didn't look up from his laptop.

Katsuya smiled at the business man and nodded, "Goodnight then."

"Hn."

--

"I can't believe we're going home!"

"Yes, Aibou. It will be nice." (1)

"We'll be able to see everyone again! I wonder how they're doing. Are you sure it's okay that we didn't call them. Oh! And can you imagine the look on Grampa's face when he sees us in two different bodies!" a shorter boy cheered from his seat on the plane. "Everyone will be surprised!"

"Yuugi, calm down." The man laughed lightly. He had spiky black hair with gold and red streaks running through it. "I'm sure everyone will be happy to see us." He smiled ruffling his shorter look-a-like's hair.

"I know." Yuugi smiled up at him. "It's just been so long. We left a few years after Kaiba-kun, and Anzu left right after high school graduation." He leaned against the other man. "I haven't heard from Otogi-kun or Honda-kun, and I barely get letters from Jou-kun these days." Yuugi sighed, looking down at the tiles of the airport's floor, "I'm sorry Yami. I'm a worry wart."

"I'm sure everyone is doing fine." Yami wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "And it is a quality I like in you, Yuugi." He smiled down, hooking a finger under the other's chin so he could look into amethyst eyes. "You're 36 years old, Yuugi. Your child like innocence is endearing."

Yuugi giggled, stealing a quick kiss from the others lips. "I love you too."

Yami laughed slightly, before a sudden though lead him to a pained face. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Yuugi blinked, his head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

"Well, I know you don't like traveling at night, but this way we can sleep on the plane and wake up with a bright and sunny morning in Japan."

"You did a good job scheduling your first flight, Yami." Yuugi hugged him. "You've even managed to keep track of everything from the passports, to the luggage! I'm proud of you." He smiled.

"_Flight 327 from Cairo Egypt to Domino, Japan is now boarding out of gate 46. Will anyone with seating level A, please board now."_ A female voice sounded through the quiet airport.

"Ready, Aibou?" Yami asked as he stood, grabbing his small backpack.

Yuugi nodded and stood next to his companion. "I've been ready ever since we decided to leave." He smiled, grabbing Yami's hand, and pulling him towards the gates door. "You have the tickets right?"

Yami blinked, "Tickets?"

* * *

1. "Aibou" means "partner."

Lime Rocker: Hahahaha I'm so mean to end it there. What happened to the tickets. Did Yami even buy any!? Well they be able to make it back home? Stay tune next week for the next installment of Yami's Journey Through Modern Time! –cough- Right sorry about that… But hay! I got some YamixYuugi in there! I'm proud of myself!!

Anyway, what do you think? Sorry it took so long, and it's a short chapter. I'll have the "family" go on outings and such next. Get some things going on between out beloved dragon and his puppy.

I hope you enjoyed the 6th chapter! PLEASE review. It's what gets me to update so quickly!!


	7. Ch 7: Laughter From the Soul

Lime Rocker: Chapter 7 is here! Thanks for all the reviews.

I know Kaiba is a bit OOC in this story, but keep in mind he's looking after a 4 year old boy (who reminds him of Mokuba), and a sick Jounouchi who probably doesn't even know what's going on. Also he's 38 now! People change a lot in 20 years. That's why I have Kaiba out of character.

It's similar to Jounouchi. He's 37 and not only gone through college, but has become a lawyer. (This will be put to use more in up coming chapters.)

Pairing: (Puppyshipping) SetoxJou, KaibaxJou. SIDE: ValonxMai, YamixYuugi, OtogixHonda, maybe (at least mentions of) BakuraxRyou

Rating: M for Mature

* * *

Chapter Seven: Laughter From the Soul

"Come on!" The little boy whined.

"No."

Kenji pouted, crossing his arms and looking up at the brunet with hurt eyes, "Why not? You said yourself Daddy needs fresh air! You can't get any fresher then the park! Plus it's Saturday!"

Kaiba Seto raised an eyebrow at the blond boy. "Yes, and your point is?"

"We always go to the park on Saturday." The two looked up to see a tall blond walking into the room, "It's just something we do as a family." Jounouchi Katsuya shrugged, sitting down on a black chair in front of the CEO's desk.

"Daddy!" Kenji jumped up and ran to his father. "Did you sleep well, Daddy? Are you feeling okay, Daddy? Oh Daddy, I missed you so much!" He rambled.

Jou smiled, ruffling the other's gold hair, "I sure did!" He grabbed his son, pulling him onto his lap.

Kaiba had gone back to typing, blatantly ignoring the father and son duo.

"Are you coming to the park?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Jounouchi rolled his eyes, and laughed slightly as Kenji stuck his tongue out at the blue eyed man. "Are you ready?"

"Yep I sure am!" Kenji smiled, "Uncle Mokuba is coming too, he's calling the limo man."

Jou shook his head, lifting Kenji off his lap, "You don't have to come, Kaiba. I'm sure you have some company to take over or something." He stood, "Go get your jacket and shoes."

Kenji nodded, and skipped out of the room while chanting "Going to the park! Going to the park!" his father following him a little less enthusiastically.

"I trust you're feeling better?"

Katsuya paused before turning back to the man behind the desk, "I'm alright." He shrugged, "I've been better, but I'm not falling asleep every five minutes."

"Hn." Kaiba didn't look up from his laptop.

"Well, I guess we'll see you when we get back." Jou turned around again.

Seto raised an eyebrow, looking up at the retreating blond, "When did I say I wouldn't be coming?"

"Then hurry up and finish that take over so we can get going." He didn't get to finish his sentence before the other man was next to him, briefcase in hand. Jou blinked for a few minutes, "I'm not even going to ask how you can be that fast."

"I can finish my take over at the park." Kaiba smirked.

"You mean…wait you're actually…" Jounouchi stared and looked at the smirking Kaiba in bewilderment.

"Gosh you two are slow!" Mokuba scolded as the two men made their way down the stairs. "Come on, Ferio's already here!"

--

"Don't ever do that to me again!" Yuugi snapped, hitting his taller twin lightly. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"Sorry Aibou. It was just too irresistible." Yami laughed, "After your little speech on remembering everything, it was just so tempting."

"Tempting maybe, funny no." Yuugi grumbled as he stretched, "Gosh that was a long flight." He winced slightly his hand moving to rub his neck, "And I slept wrong."

Yami chuckled softy, "I'm sorry. You were out like a light though." He patted Yuugi's shoulder. "So, to the game shop?"

Yuugi nodded "Yeah, I want to see Grandpa first." He smiled as the two stepped out of the airport, "Gosh it's good to be home."

"Yes." Yami smiled down at his lighter part, "Yes it is." He looked up and hailed a taxi, "Shall we go Aibou?"

Yuugi jumped into the cap and smiled at their driver, "Kame Game Shop please."

--

"Uncle Mokuba, come play tag with us!" Kenji waved from his perch on top of the slide.

Mokuba laughed, jumping up from his place on the bench. "Okay, but I'm it!"

Jounouchi smiled, as Mokuba started counting, while Kenji, and the group of friends he had made, started running around laughing. They had been at the park for almost and hour and a half now and Kenji had made ten or eleven friends already. Jou shook his head; his son was such a social butterfly.

The person next to him shifted, catching his attention. _'Kaiba…'_ Jou looked down at his hands, the CEO confused him. Not only had he opened his home and ordered his personal doctor to look at him, but he was being… well, _nice_.

If someone had told him 20 years a go that the Kaiba Seto would be teaching his son how to play Duel Monsters, and even willingly lose to the boy, he would have laughed in their face, then, after some thought, punched them.

'_Not that it's a bad thing._' Jou thought, _'It's sweet that he would even think about doing something like that. Kind of… cute.'_ He blinked, _'Cute… Kaiba Seto and cute used in the same sentence?'_ He looked up to the clear sky, _'Nope, no pig's flying…'_

He leaned back, his brow furrowed in thought. To put it simply, Jounouchi Katsuya was confused. _'Why?_' was the only thing that really made sense, _'Why is he doing all this?_' Deciding he wouldn't understand the complex man's motives until he asked, Jou turned to voice his question.

"Hay, Kaiba. Why are-" He stopped and blinked, "you sleeping?" he finished softly.

Sure enough, there was the busy man, eyes closed and slumped over ever so slightly. Katsuya couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips. _'Okay, so maybe the two do belong in the same sentence… at least when he's asleep.'_

Jou was pretty sure the other man wouldn't want to be caught asleep in public. He looked down at his watch, "Damn it's already six o'clock!" he muttered before gathering Kenji and Mokuba's jackets. He stood up, making sure to nudge Kaiba as he stood, "Alright you two. It's time to go."

"Aww! But Daddy-"

"No but's. It's already six!" Jou held out Kenji's jacket, "And I'm sure Mr. Workaholic here wants to get back to work before his head explodes." He gestured to the man behind him.

"Hn." Kaiba growled; mad at himself for daring to fall asleep in front of people, and at the mutt for elbowing him in the ribs.

"Seto," Mokuba smiled shyly, "Can we go out to dinner?"

'_Damn it not the puppy-dog-eyes.'_ Kaiba mentally groaned. "Mokuba, it's only six."

"Yeah, that's the best time to go. It won't be overly crowded, but all the good places will be open." He smiled, "Please Seto. I'm sure Kenji and Jou would like to." He turned to Kenji, "You want to go get something to eat?"

Kenji nodded and bounced up and down, "Can we?"

"Ask Seto-sama!" Mokuba pulled Kenji next to him.

Seto's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as two sets of pleading eyes were turned on him.

"Kenji, that's rude." Jou scolded, arms crossed, and glaring slightly at his song.

The young Jounouchi pouted slightly, but moved back to his father's side.

"Alright, but we're going someplace that has real food." Kaiba stood, dusting off his black trench coat.

"Thank you 'nii-sama!" Mokuba hugged his brother, before grabbing Kenji's hand and skipping towards the limo, blond father and brunet businessman following soon after.

Jou watched his son get in the limo behind the little raven haired boy Seto called a brother. "You can drop Kenji and me off at our apartment if you want."

"Aren't you hungry?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the blond next to him.

Katsuya shrugged, "Well, yes… but I owe you enough as it is. I'm sure wherever we're going is high priced. Plus Kenji and I aren't exactly dressed for a fancy place." He gestured to his jeans, green t-shirt and plain jacket.

"Hn." Was the only reply.

"I also need to check my phone messages, call my friends and let them know I'm alive, feed the fish…"

Kaiba turned an amused look towards the other man, "You have fish?"

"Yeah. Otogi's Christmas present last year… Oh and I have to get the mail, rent's due next week." Jou shot him a sideways glance, "I have a life that I unfortunately have to get back to."

"You're coming to dinner." He left no room to argue, "I'll have Ferio drop you off at your apartment tomorrow after he takes me to Kaiba Corp." He paused allowing the blond to slide in. "However, we'll be picking you back up when I've finished work. Len said a few weeks of rest," he smirked at Jou who had paused to look at him, his body half in and half out of the limo, "And we both know you won't get enough sleep if you're not told to."

Katsuya growled, "I'm not a dog, you rich son of a-"

"Come on Daddy! I'm hungry." Kenji pulled at his father's shirt.

Jou nodded, but continued to glare up at Kaiba and hissed, "We'll talk about this later." before disappearing into the limo.

'_I look forward to it puppy.'_ Kaiba smirked, following the others into the limo.

--

Jounouchi Katsuya inwardly groaned, and sunk back into his chair, _"I knew this was a bad idea._' Not only were the prices sky high, but everyone kept giving him _those_ looks. The employee's certainly didn't think he should be here, Jou could tell by their attitude. _'I'm going to have food or some kind of drink spilled on me before the nights out.'_

"Jou, are you okay?" Jou turned to his left, where the raven haired Kaiba sat. "You look really pale." Mokuba looked the blond man over worriedly.

Blue eyes looked up from his soup and eyed the blond suspiciously, but said nothing.

Katsuya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Eh, I'm fine." He smiled at the raven hair, "How's your knee? You took a beating during your little game of Hide-and-Seek."

'_Change of subject._' Seto noted and rolled his eyes, as he finished his soup.

"Oh, it's fine." The younger Kaiba smiled.

"Your entrees, Sirs." Their waiter glared slightly at Jou as he set his tray down and served the table. "And did you enjoy your soup, Kaiba-sama?" he turned a smile towards the famous man.

"Hn." Kaiba shrugged.

Mokuba shook his head, "Everything has been very good, thank you." He translated for his brother.

"Very good." He stood, admiring the table, "Can I get you anything else?" the waiter asked, picking up his tray and leaving after four head shook a 'no.'

Dinner went on uneventfully, other than the glares the two blonds were receiving. Jou was thankful his son was oblivious to the negative feelings. Kanji seemed to be enjoying himself very much, and often laughed with Mokuba at some inside joke.

"Seto?" Someone's shrill voice sounded behind the departing group

Mokuba covered his mouth, trying to hide his laughter from his brother's obvious 'Dear God someone kill me' face.

"Gratanya-san." Seto nodded, not bothering to turn around and face the thin brunette.

Maggie's brown eyes shown with pleasure, "It's so good to see you, Seto." Her cheesy smile spreading across her lips, "I do regret how our last date ended."

"Hai, there were many unpleasant things that evening." Kaiba snarled slightly, glaring at his glass of tea.

"Oh it's so good to hear, you feel the same!" She almost cheered, "Then perhaps another date is called for." She slinked around so she was in front of the CEO.

Mokuba was now hiding his gagging behind his hand, as Kenji watched quietly, clearly confused. The older blond kept his back turned from the two, not wanting the woman's attention.

"Nn." Seto shrugged, "Perhaps, but at the moment I need to get my family home." His eyes narrowed slightly. "So if you please."

"I did hope that we could have gotten together sooner." Maggie took a step closer to Kaiba, eyelashes batting.

Kaiba clenched his teeth, his right eye twitching ever so slightly, "Yes, well we will have to deal with that later. I'm busy at the moment."

She smiled, pushing her hip out, "I know. It's just I miss the time we spend together so much." She smiled slyly. "It was so…" she paused either to think of a good word or for dramatic effect, "pleasurable."

"Look lady, you're annoying." A voice spoke from the side lines. "I'm sorry Lady, but could you take the hints, so we can go home. I'm tired." Kenji crossed his arms, and glared the best a 4-year-old could._ 'Plus he and my Daddy are going to be in love!' _he added silently to himself.

"Kenji!" Katsuya scolded, spinning around to face his son. "You don't talk to people like that, it's rude."

"But it's obvious that Seto-sama doesn't like her. She just doesn't care." Jou's son argued.

"Don't talk back to me." Jounouchi hissed, "No TV for a week, and no sweets." He took hold of Kenji's arm, "Come on. You've said, far past enough." He gently, yet firmly pushed his son towards the door.

Maggie blinked for a moment, before glaring daggers at the blond father, "You! You're the waiter from the other night." She pointed at Jou, who had paused by the door.

"Mokuba, could you make sure Kenji waits in the limo?" Mokuba nodded, slowly ushering the still pouting boy outside. Jounouchi turned, and bowed slightly, "I am sorry for my son's behavior. He had no right." Katsuya turned again, moving to follow the two younger boys.

"Just a minute. If you think I'm putting up with that, you are sorely wrong!" Maggie shrieked, "You have some nerve to treat your betters like that!" She neared Jou. "Never before have a met someone so idiotic and pathetic!" the brunette stopped just in front of him. "And that little piece of filth-"

Jou blinked, looking the thin woman in the eyes, "-Ma'am," he interrupted, "I will take whatever you wish to say about me," Jounouchi smiled sarcastically, "But I will not allow an anorexic and superficial gold-digger to talk about my son like that. He was wrong, and he will be punished, but you have no right."

"You bastard!" Maggie spat, raising her hand to slap him, only to have her wrist grabbed.

"That's enough." Blue eyes narrowed at the woman in front of him. "You will not insult my guests, and I will not stand for any physical harm towards any of them." He brushed past the wide eyed woman, and followed Katsuya through the door.

There was an awkward silence between a pissed off CEO and a guilty waiter.

"I… I'm sorry." Jou sighed, as they made their way towards the other side of the parking lot to the waiting limo. "I didn't mean to ruin the evening."

Seto raised an eyebrow, "Nonsense, the night isn't ruined. It's only-" He glanced at his watch, "-7:30. I still have plenty of time to finish some work when we get home. And Mokuba is undoubtedly going to ask to go some where else next."

"That's…" he paused, "That's not what I meant." Jou glared at his shoes for a moment, before looking back up, head held high. "It seems no matter how grown up we are, one of us ends up ruining things for the other." He shrugged, "So I'm sorry."

"Don't be an idiot." Kaiba rolled his eyes, "You haven't ruined anything. Kenji is correct, the woman is annoying." He smirked, "Actually your son seems to be quite useful in getting rid of annoying women." Seto's lip twitched, remembering the boy's words. "It was…" he tried to hold it back, "Quite… funny…" But the attempt failed. Seto stopped walking, and burst out into a loud roar of laughter.

Jou watched the other in slight amazement. _'What the hell?_' He could never understand the blue eyed man. Never in his life would he have thought Kaiba could ever laugh, and here he was, laughing about something his son had done, which Jou thought completely inappropriate.

Katsuya blinked a few times, before shaking his head and smiling at the sight of Kaiba Seto laughing. '_People change a lot in twenty years…'_

--

Kenji was still pouting in the limo. _'That lady's going to ruin operation Dragon Man and Daddy!' _He was more mad then anything else.

"Kenji… It's okay." Mokuba patted him on the back.

"No it's not! She's going to ruin everything!" Kenji shouted, before covering his mouth.

Mokuba blinked, "Ruin…? Everything…?" He stared at the boy for a moment, "Kenji what are you planning?" He smirked own at the now shocked blond.

"What?" Kenji played innocent, "I'm not planning anything."

The raven haired boy crossed his arms, "I know that look. It's when a plan gets messed up." Mokuba shrugged, "I used to plot things all the time. I had my share of blown up plans. So come on, what's the deal."

The young Jounouchi shook his head, looked down at the car's floor. "No… it's… I don't want you to get mad."

"I won't get mad." Mokuba smiled, "I promise." He ruffled the other's hair, "And hey, maybe I can even help!"

Kenji thought for a moment, staring at his lap. "Well… I…" He shook his head, "I want my daddy and Seto-sama to be in love." He muttered.

There was a silence between the two before the eldest burst out into a fit of laughter. "Oh… Oh Kenji!" He gasped out. "I had the very thought a long time ago. My plan blew up into a million bits. My brother was too stubborn." He smiled at the stunned boy. "But you know… we might be able to make things work now, a lot has changed."

Kenji's eyes grew wide, before a vicious smile crossed his face "Operation Dragon Man and Daddy is still not a failure!"

--

Katsuya learned, when Mokuba said they would spend a little time together, that meant the entire day. They had been out running around since the park early in the morning, dinner, they had just finished a movie, and the kid was now talking about going shopping.

"You can go shopping tomorrow, Mokuba." Kaiba Seto rubbed his temples, a headache pushing its way into the CEO's mind.

Mokuba crossed his arms, "That's not the point, Seto!" he cried, "I want all of us to go shopping!"

The elder Kaiba looked at his watch, "It's almost nine o'clock. Everything will be closing. We can go shopping tomorrow." Seto smiled at the shorter brother, "I promise. I'll leave work early, and the four of us can go out."

The raven haired kid beamed, "Alright! Thank you, Seto." Mokuba hugged his brother for a moment, before turning to the two blonds. "It's going to be so fun. We'll show you how to shop Kaiba style."

Jounouchi shook his head, smiling at the onyx haired boy.

"Hay, Mokuba!" someone behind the two Jounouchi's called, "Hay! You want to come to the club with us?"

Mokuba waved, "Miko!" He turned to his older brother, "Can I go, 'Nii-sama?"

"Alright, have fun." Kaiba called after Mokuba who was currently running towards the group of friends.

"Where to, Sir?" Ferio bowed slightly, holding the door open for the three remaining males.

Seto looked over at his old rival and sleeping chilled, "Home, Ferio." He nodded for Jounouchi to get in the limo first, taking Kanji from his hands before he slid inside.

"Thanks." Jou muttered when Kaiba handed the blond boy back to his father. He looked down at Kenji in thought as the CEO got into his limo, and they started for home. "Ah… thanks."

"For what?" The businessman looked over at Jou with a slender eyebrow raised.

Jounouchi shrugged, "For a lot I guess… standing up for us against that lady, yelling at the pop corn man-"

"-That had nothing to do with you." Kaiba turned back to the window.

"I know, but it was hilarious." The blond man laughed slightly, "Paying for dinner and the movie."

"It's nothing."

"I know… it's just…" Katsuya smiled, "It's kind of ironic."

Seto raised an eyebrow again, turning back towards the other man, "What is?"

Jounouchi shrugged, "I don't think I've said thank you this much to one person in two days… and the fact that it's you." He shrugged again. "It's just different."

"Hn. I suppose."

"I won't be able to repay you for awhile… you know that right?" Jou eyed the man, worried that the businessman would be angered by the fact.

A sly smile came to the owner of Kaiba Corporation, "Mokuba and I have to attend a business party on Saturday. Come with us." Seto shot the caramel eyed teen a side look, a smirk planted firmly on his lips.

"Isn't that tomorrow? And I don't have anything to wear… what about Kenji?" Jou finished looking down at his sleeping son.

"Day after tomorrow and it's a good thing we're shopping tomorrow, nei?" Kaiba shrugged, "As for Kenji, can't you get a babysitter?"

Jou nodded, "I suppose I could call Honda and Otogi…"

"They'll be at the party."

"Oh… yeah with Otogi owning a company as well I guess that makes sense." Jou paused, "Wait, going to some dinner party is going to pay you back? I find that a little hard to believe."

Kaiba shrugged again, "It's a start. And you won't be staying on your own until next week."

Katsuya sighed, "Alright. I'll see… what I can do." He turned to the window, deep in thought. _'I will __**never**__ understand him.'_He missed the satisfied smile on the brunet's lips

--

"What's wrong, Yuugi?"

"Jounouchi-kun, hasn't picked up the phone…" Yuugi sighed, sitting down on his bed.

Yami smiled warmly at his other half, "I'm sure he will call you back. Perhaps he is staying with Honda and Otogi."

Yuugi leaned against the ex-Pharaoh, "But wouldn't they have told me he was over when I called them?"

"I'm sure he is fine, Aibou." He hugged the smaller man, "Come on, it's late. You can call him again tomorrow."

Yuugi nodded, laying down on the bed, he and Yami curling up with one another. He smiled softy, remembering the look on his Grandpa's face when they arrived at the shop, and the yells from Honda and Otogi over the phone.

He had loved Egypt, and Yami and Bakura seemed thrilled to be back in their native land. He and Ryou couldn't have been happier for their darker halves. But he was home in Domino, and he had missed it so much.

For a moment Yuugi wondered what Ryou was up to, and then pushed the thought away. He **knew** what his friend and Bakura were doing right now, at least if the ex-thief had any say at what they were going to do.

He chuckled slightly, snuggling closer to Yami. He certainly had interesting friends.

* * *

Lime Rocker: Hay guys! Sorry this is a shorter chapter, but the next one is going to be a doozy!! What do you have to look forward to you ask? Well… shopping, Yuugi and Jou reunite, Jou gets bad news, and a LOT of drama!! I feel so bad for Jou in the next chapter. =( However in chapter 9 I think Kaiba makes up for some of it heehee.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!


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